Always The Analyst
by Alex Beckett
Summary: Jordan goes to sleep after one particularly long night at work, and when she awakes in the morning, not everything is as it seems anymore. It's up to her and Audrey to figure out what's happening and shut this new Trouble down before its changes become permenent.
1. Saturday Morning

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except for what I make up.**

**Side note: this takes place awhile after the events in Real Estate.**

* * *

Saturday, Jordan thought as she opened her eyes one bright, sunny morning. Thank God; it's been a hell of a week.

In the space of exactly seven days, Jordan had worked three double shifts at the Gun &amp; Rose, and had also—but only because Dwight had guilt-tripped her—helped Audrey and Company stop the latest Trouble.

That was another story for another day, but Jordan was definitely going to think twice about invisibility and toddlers from now on.

At any rate, Jordan was just happy for a day off.

* * *

That's when Jordan suddenly noticed that her cozy house all of a sudden seemed a little different, somehow. The decorations in her bedroom alone were a slightly different style than she would have cared for, but she still spotted touches of her flair here and there, as though she'd been compromising someone at the time this room had been put together.

Question was, _who_ had she been compromising with? After she ran away from her family's farm in Iowa as a teenager, she had lived alone for decades… except for one small, blissful but brief period before moving to Haven.

Turning slightly, Jordan saw that she wasn't in the middle of the bed like usual. The other side of her bed looked like it had been slept in. She felt like a black widow sometimes because while she enjoyed watching men trip over themselves to flirt with her, she knew could never take anyone to bed because her curse would severely injure them, if not kill them, when she wasn't in complete control of her own body.

This meant she had to _deeply_ love whomever it was that she was sharing a bed with.

* * *

"Hmm, that's weird." Jordan said to herself when she had a little trouble sitting up. "I wonder wha—oh, my God…"

Once again startled by something she hadn't been expecting, Jordan finally managed to get into a proper sitting position looked down at her middle, where her blanket had fallen off, and what she saw gave her cause for shock: where there had only yesterday been a trim and well-toned stomach was a very large, very rounded baby belly!

She, Jordan Grace McKee, was _pregnant, _and not only that, but it looked like she was due any day.

Obviously, someone's Trouble was in play.

But how the hell did she make the leap that fast? Audrey was usually the one who figured out that sort of thing first.

Audrey, she thought. I should call Audrey.

As Jordan leaned over towards the bedside table so she could fetch her phone, she felt a very hard kick to the side of her stomach.

"Okay, okay." Jordan sighed and rubbed the area as the baby's kicks intensified. "I'm up, I'm up."

Jordan felt weird, talking to a gestating baby, much less one she didn't remember making, she got out of bed. After steadying herself because her center of gravity had so drastically changed, the first thing she did was relieve herself in the restroom when she felt the baby put all of its weight on her bladder.

When Jordan washed her hands afterwards, she noticed that she was wearing a diamond wedding ring.

So she was married in this parallel universe. Awesome.

She also noticed that she couldn't find any of her gloves. Double awesome.

* * *

Throwing on a robe over her pajamas, she headed out to the hallway, stopping at a door, second on the right. Four big pink wooden letters attached to the front spelled out a name: Zion.

"So you're my little Zion, are you, baby girl?" Jordan put a hand to her middle and felt herself smile when one of Zion's hands made contact with her palm. "How nice to meet you."

Zion responded by elbowing Jordan, as though urging her to go into the room beyond. So she did.

Jordan found herself in a jungle-themed nursery. It was beautiful, and everything was ready. All that was missing was baby Zion.

However, memories of Jordan's pre-Haven, pre-curse, pre Doctor Claire Callahan life were coming back in a flood, so she left the room post haste, shutting the door behind her. This really wasn't the time to give into those memories. Not again.

Leaving the hallway, she went out to the living room and sat on the couch to think. The human taser's thoughts were almost immediately derailed when she heard a noise in the kitchen, like the sound of the back door opening, followed by the sound of a dog's claws click-clacking on the kitchen tiles.

She had a _dog?_

A golden retriever, she learned, when she saw the beautiful creature stop and sit a few feet away from her, watching, its tail wagging. It was obviously waiting for an invitation, but Jordan was feeling apprehensive: touching another person was one thing, but touching a harmless, household pet barehanded was quite another.

"Jordan?"

Her heart legitimately skipped a beat when she recognized the voice that said her name. "In here, Dwight!"

A few seconds later, the man himself appeared and crossed the room, sitting next to her on the couch.

"I didn't think you'd be up yet, babe." He told her. "I was going to make you breakfast in bed since it's your first day of maternity leave."

Good to know I don't have to go to work any time soon, Jordan thought.

"Zion had other plans, I guess." She said as she realized that Dwight was under the spell of the Trouble. "She's kicking up a storm."

Excited by this, Dwight pulled back the material of Jordan's tank top and placed a hand experimentally on the bulge. Quite surprised that she hadn't zapped Dwight at all, but quite relieved to see him sporting a gold wedding band on his right ring finger, Jordan held Dwight's hand in both of hers, pressing down slightly.

"There she is." Jordan grinned when Zion kicked a little more. "Showing off to daddy."

Dwight chuckled and fixed Jordan's tank top before cupping her face in his hands, kissing her full on the lips. When she turned to putty in his hold, he pressed a trail of gentle kisses from her mouth, all the way down her throat and stopping on her chest, going low enough to draw a few soft moans from Jordan's lips; she was perplexed by this parallel universe, but pregnant or not, and cursed or not, she was a woman who had needs that needed filling.

Dwight pulled away first. "If people saw how sweet and gentle you were at home—"

"I'd lose my 'scary girl' reputation." Jordan let out a puff of air as she tried to get her elevated heartbeat back in working order. "You're the only one who knows the real me."

That was true: even in the real Haven, where the two like to routinely scare the fear of God into each other, Dwight still knew her better than anyone else did.

Before Dwight could give a proper answer, the dog let out an impatient bark and was now bowing to them in a pose that cried, "Play! Play! Play!"

Having mercy, Dwight whistled to the dog. "Come here, Hanneli. You're okay."

Hanneli gave a joyful bark this time and bounded over. The second she was close enough, she jumped up on the couch and sat in front of Jordan, looking at her expectantly. Jordan made no immediate move to pet Hanneli.

"Are _you_ okay?" Dwight asked his wife.

"I'm fine." Jordan invented her words as she went. "Zion kept me up in the night, is all. I'll probably be a little slow today."

"Well, hopefully, you've already remembered that your affliction 'took a hiatus' the second you find out about Zion."

"So I can't hurt anybody, even Hanneli." Jordan said more to herself as the truth dawned on her.

"Bingo," Dwight confirmed, thinking his wife was merely suffering from a case of pregnancy brain. "And of course, Hanneli went from following me everywhere to following you everywhere just before your affliction left. I still think she knew you were pregnant before you did."

Jordan regarded Hanneli with renewed interest and hugged her around the neck, running her fingers through her fur.

"Hey, Hanneli." Jordan kissed Hanneli's head, happy to be able to even touch an animal this way because it had been far too long. "Nice to see you."

Hanneli gave Jordan's shoulder with her nose, as if to say, "The feeling is mutual," before laying down with her head and paws in her mistress' lap. She wasn't even fazed when Zion kicked her, although Jordan was, mostly because it was uncomfortable and she still wasn't used to feeling a baby in her womb.

"I think Z is trying to tell me that she'd appreciate being fed."

"I'll take that as a sign to start making pancakes. Why don't you go wake Lizzie? Cartoons will be starting soon."

"But this means I'll have to make Hanneli move, and she's comfortable!"

"She'll get over it."

Deciding that he had a point, Jordan let Dwight move Hanneli off her lap before helping her to her feet. Because Dwight couldn't keep his hands off his wife—especially when she was pregnant—he held onto her a little bit longer and just looked at her, smiling.

"What?" Jordan asked.

"Nothing." Dwight steadied Jordan and let her go. "I was just remembering how you looked when you were pregnant with Lizzie."

Inwardly, Jordan had a little freak out: she'd carried Lizzie in this version of events? That, of course, prompted a slew of questions.

How long had she and Dwight been married? How long had they lived in Haven? Or… had they always been here?

"I looksd like a beached whale, I'll bet." Jordan joked, giving Dwight a peck on the cheek. "I'll go wake Lizzie now."

The pair went their separate ways, and Jordan felt as though she was in autopilot, but having Hanneli trotting faithfully beside her was comforting.

What the hell was going on?

She was married to Dwight and nine months pregnant, _and_ she was curse-free?

And she'd given birth to Lizzie? Jordan had met her once, but she died a few weeks later, an accidental casualty at the hands of The Guard.

And Hanneli—that had been the name of Dwight's faithful childhood dog. He'd gotten her when she was eight weeks old, and she'd lived to a ripe old age.

Truly, though: What. The. Hell.

"Good morning, Lizzie."

Jordan was in Lizzie's ballet-themed room already, opening the blinds to let the sunlight in. The nine-year-old moaned in her sleep, not ready to be interrupted by the world yet.

"Lizzie?"

The maternal way in which Jordan spoke, and even how she stroked the little girl's cheek, surprised even herself. It was instinctive, like she really had around for Lizzie's entire life.

"It's time to wake up: daddy's making pancakes, and it's almost time for cartoons!"

That last word registered in Lizzie's fogged-up noggin and her eyes popped open immediately. She was out of bed in a blur, barely remembering to kiss Jordan, Zion, and Hanneli good morning before scurrying out of the room.

* * *

Still not knowing what to make of her current situation, Jordan just went with the flow and enjoyed breakfast with her family, after which it was officially time for her to get ready for the day.

Much to her chagrin, most of her clean clothes consisted of dresses, a clothing article she didn't often wear.

"Oh, well." Jordan muttered to herself as she changed into the first dress she saw. "Just go with it."

* * *

After convincing Dwight that she'd be fine, especially with Hanneli for company, Jordan left her home, thankful for the first time ever that it was right down the street from the police station.

"Audrey?"

Jordan was just in front of the building and spotted the blond police officer come out of the front door with her thinking face on. When she saw Jordan, she was very taken aback.

"Jordan, wow!" She laughed, coming down to the sidewalk with her and reacting to her new appearance. "You look fantastic!"

Jordan couldn't help herself and smiled bashfully. "Thanks; although this was at all how I looked yesterday."

Audrey shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Wait—so you can tell that a Trouble is at work?"

"Oh, yeah."

Audrey breathed an audible a sigh of relief. "Thank God; I don't want to be the only one who woke up married with a family."

Jordan raised her eyebrows. "You, as well, huh?"

Audrey nodded and then raised her own eyebrows when she noticed the dog.

"Whose puppy?"

"Mine and Dwight's—"

"You and _Dwight?"_

Jordan blushed spectacularly and nodded. "Hanneli belongs to him, and apparently, she's been following me everywhere since just before I realized I was pregnant."

"Looks like she's brought loyalty to a whole new level. How behaved is she?"

Both women looked down at Hanneli to see she was occupied with staring down a butterfly that had landed on her nose and was beating its wings lazily in the sunlight. Instead of trying to snap at the delicate insect, Hanneli was cross-eyed as she watched it, staying absolutely still, with just her tail sweeping the ground in a wag.

However, Hanneli couldn't keep her composure for long because a breeze rolled through the air, making the golden pooch sneeze as the butterfly got bored and flew away.

"Your dog is weird, but I think she'll be able to handle it if she comes and camps out with us for awhile."

Audrey started back up the steps and Jordan followed her, although slightly confused.

"Where are we going?"

"To my office," Audrey let the waitress and her dog enter the building before standing beside them. "Or would you rather stand around out there?"

Zion kicked Jordan again, impatient that she wasn't in motion.

"Looks like we're going to your office."

Jordan smiled at Audrey, and the blond became slightly disconcerted because most of the time, the other woman held her at arm's length, out of duty and loyalty to The Guard. Audrey also knew that Jordan's crowd viewed her a walking enigma.

"Yes?"

"You and me, working together. Weird, huh?"

"Different, yes. Weird, no." Audrey corrected. "Maybe when this is all over, and we get back to where we belong, we can work on being friends."

That is, if we remember any of this, Jordan thought.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," she said aloud. "But who knows? It could happen."

Smiling at that answer, Audrey led Jordan and Hanneli in the direction of her office.

She like this new, peaceful alliance—for lack of a better word—and she was thankful that, for whatever odd reason, that Jordan was immune to it because that would cut down the part of the routine where she had to convince everyone that something was wrong in the first place.

Audrey was also glad it was Jordan because despite the wall she had around herself, she genuinely liked her.

Sure, Jordan could be a little scary sometimes because she was the town pariah and an untouchable, but Audrey knew that long before Jordan's Trouble been activated, she had been a regular, happy woman, probably with a happy life.

How did Audrey know that?

Every once in awhile, she could catch Jordan looking lost in thought, but looking like she was remembering something from long ago.

Something warm, something good, something wonderful.

"Audrey?"

Jordan and Hanneli were already in her office, watching her.

"You coming?"

Audrey smiled and started to follow her. "Of course."

* * *

**More?**


	2. One Hell Of A Pair

"Tell me _exactly_ what you saw when you woke up this morning."

Jordan and Audrey were settled at Audrey's desk in her office. Hanneli was curled up on the floor next to Jordan's chair.

"No." Jordan shook her head and smiled coyly. "First I want to hear who _you_ are married to."

"I—"

"Audrey?"

Just at that second, Nathan entered the room, prompting a 'speak of the handsome devil' remark from Audrey while Jordan just snickered. Her question had literally answered itself.

"What's the matter with you two?"

"Nothing." The women answered in accordance with each other.

Nathan shuddered. "You two have gotten even weirder since you've become best friends; outsiders would probably think you're sisters."

Audrey laughed and looked up at Nathan. "What are you doing here? I just saw you and AJ at home, like twenty minutes ago."

"You forgot your lunch, so I thought I'd bring it to you," Nathan deposited a brightly colored lunch bag on the desk. "And I have to get some files from Laverne. Can I leave AJ here for a few?"

"Sure." Audrey looked around. "Where _is_ Half Pint?"

A motion out of the corner of Jordan's eye caught her attention and made her look down to see pint-sized version of Audrey, but with dark hair and dressed in an orange corduroy dress, a red blouse, white tights, and glittery silver Ugg boots. The child was kneeling in front of Hanneli, cooing to her and petting her.

"She's with Hanneli." Jordan told AJ's parents. "She's fine."

"Alrighty." Nathan turned to Audrey and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll be right back."

When he was gone, it was Audrey's turn to blush; clearly, she wasn't used to so much affection, much less from Nathan.

Jordan had realized since everything that had gone down at the Holloway house that she had to be kidding herself that she and Nathan had a chance together. She cared about him, yes, but she was more mesmerized by the fact that she could touch him without hurting him.

Nathan was also the only one who had really figured out what her curse actually was.

But in her heart of hearts, Jordan had always known that Audrey and Nathan were destined for each other.

"AJ?"

Audrey was calling for her daughter, so AJ obediently popped her head up and made eye contact with her mother from across the table.

"Yes, mommy?"

"Will you remind Auntie Jordan what your whole name is, and how old you are?"

AJ giggled in amusement; since Jordan was her godmother, she knew that she knew, but she'd still tell her, anyway.

"My name is Abigail Jordan Wournos, and I'm three!"

"Wow!" Jordan gushed. "You're such a big girl, with even bigger and beautiful name!"

AJ grinned at the praise and then regarded Jordan's middle for a second. "Is it time for Zion's birthday yet?"

"I'm afraid not, little one."

AJ huffed in disappointment for a quick second. "Lizzie told me the other day that she'll share Zion with me since I don't have anyone littler than me yet. Is that okay?"

"Of course it is!"

Jordan reached out and caressed AJ's cheek. AJ caught Jordan's hand and held it in place.

"I'm so glad you don't have to wear those gloves anymore!"

"Why's that?"

"Because your hands are so warm!" AJ continued to smile adoringly at Jordan. "But I always knew that; know how?"

"Do tell."

"Because I'm just like daddy and mommy: I can't feel anything, and I'm imuu— imoo—"

"AJ, are you trying to say 'immune'?"

"Yes," she chirped. "And guess what?"

"What's what?"

"I can only feel mommy, daddy, you, Uncle Dwight, Uncle Duke, Auntie Claire, Lizzie, and Hanneli!"

Before AJ could tell Jordan any more about herself, Nathan was back, telling AJ that it was time to go. AJ pouted because she didn't want to leave, but when her father reminded her that they were going to the library, AJ was ready to cooperate again, and they made a peaceful exit.

When they were gone, Jordan looked at Audrey with raised eyebrows. "You and Nathan, huh?"

"I guess, and uh, check this out."

Audrey fished a picture out of her notepad and slid it over to Jordan.

"Audrey," Jordan said in surprise after a few moments of examination. "This is a sonogram, and it's… yours…?"

"Yeah." Audrey glided a hand over her lower stomach, which in comparison to Jordan's, was very small, but not without a bump. "According to the data on that sonogram, I'm already six weeks along. I know baby bean is there, even if it's not apparent to everyone else because I woke up with morning sickness."

Jordan wrinkled her nose as she set the sonogram back on the table. "I'm sorry for you, and I'm glad that Zion is gentle."

_"I'm_ just glad it didn't last for long." Audrey leaned back in her chair and sighed. "So you and I wake up married—you to Dwight, me to Nathan—with kids, and we're both pregnant, too?"

"I even have a dog," Jordan mused. "And AJ can't feel anyone, except for who she really loves. Not only that, but she's immune to the Troubles. She's probably always been able to feel me, as far as she knows."

"What a day," Audrey muttered. "And it isn't even twelve noon yet. Are you ready to tell me about what you saw when you woke up?"

Jordan agreed and proceeded to give Audrey a detailed account of her morning so far. By the end, Audrey was feeling flabbergasted.

"But Jordan, isn't Lizzie supposed to be dead?"

"Yes, unfortunately, and Hanneli? Dwight got her when he was _eight, _and she lived for a very long time, but…"

"Yes?" Audrey prompted.

"Dwight is like me—he grew up in a farm, way out west!"

Audrey stood and started pacing. "So we wake up with new lives, but in our own houses, and we're the only ones who have noticed anything weird so far? Why do you think you've been included in the immunity?"

Jordan shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine, Audrey, but it's not like we can just it here."

"That's true, but we should go see if we can find Duke." said Audrey as she helped Jordan to her feet. "Nathan is out with AJ, and Dwight and Lizzie are probably still at your house. We should also see if Dave and Vince are around."

"Why them?"

"Because most of the time there's a Trouble, even if it takes them awhile to believe me, they still give me as much help as they can."

"And this way, we can be at the Haven Herald and go back in the archives to check on marriage ams birth records."

"There it is." Audrey motioned towards the door. "Let's go."

* * *

As the two rode in Audrey's car with Hanneli in the backseat, Audrey had a laugh as she remembered something. Jordan called her on it.

"What are you thinking?"

"About when we agreed on working towards being friends after all this is over, we didn't even know yet that in this 'version' of Haven that we're already best friends."

"The 'Chosen One' and the town pariah—we're one hell of a pair."

"Damn straight. For the time being, let's work on making it believable, alright?"

"Okay."

For Jordan, that wouldn't be difficult because although she'd never say it to her face, she admired Audrey, despite how most people in The Guard thought of her.

Audrey was different—brave, strong, and loyal. A survivor, even.

"Hey, Audrey? Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

Jordan took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "A long time ago, after I left Iowa, but still way before I got to Haven, I was married."

"What?"

Now at the Grey Gull, Audrey pulled into the nearest parking space and turned off the car before looking at her companion.

"Really? Where were you between Iowa and Haven?"

"New York City—Sunset Park in Brooklyn, if you want to be exact. I was Jordan Grace Estrada, and my husband was named Saúl."

Audrey wanted to ask another question, but when Hanneli reminded them that she was still there, Jordan got out of the car and let her out.

"Jordan," Audrey said as they all walked towards the bar. "How long between the end of your life in Brooklyn and your curse getting triggered?"

Jordan couldn't look Audrey in the eyes as she answered because even after all these years, the gravity of the answer would always cripple her.

"Less than a month."

She walked a little faster, but only because that was all she wanted to tell Audrey on the matter.

For now.


	3. Dark Paradise

**Thank you, everyone, for all the love!**

* * *

Jordan and Audrey didn't even get inside the Grey Gull because Claire came bouncing out, almost literally, and shuffled them and Hanneli to the side, just as two heavyset men, passed by them, carrying what looked like a cooler of drinks.

"What's going on?" Jordan asked Claire. "And what the hell are you wearing?"

Claire was dressed in black skinny jeans, a shockingly bright purple tank top that hugged her curves tightly, black flats, and a plaid black-and-red button-down shirt. Her fiery red hair was even done up in a french braid, and it had purple highlights running throughout, the same shade as her tank top.

Doctor Claire Callahan was dressed the complete and total opposite of how a psychiatrist should be dressed, and it was blowing Jordan's mind.

"What are you talking about? I'm a bartender, not a doctor, or something—this is how I always dress for work."

What the hell? Was this was the Twilight Zone?

"And as for what's going on: today is the big birthday bash for the Butler twins, Ashley and Emma, because they turned the big two-one today. Their parents rented the whole bar out."

"Are you the bouncer, Claire?" snickered Audrey. "You don't look very threatening."

"More like a teddy bear." Jordan added cheekily.

"Very funny, you two." the redhead rolled her eyes. "Duke told me not to let anyone in, outside of the caterers and the decorators."

Audrey put her hands on her hips. "I live upstairs!"

"Don't shoot the messenger, blondie. I'm just saying what Duke told me, and even if he hadn't heard it from the twins' parents, he would've still said something like it because the pressure's gone to his head, and he's never had a gig this big before." Claire glanced towards the staircase leading to the loft. "I'm sure that you can still go upstairs."

"No, thank you." Jordan said quickly. "Audrey and Hanneli can make that flight of stairs, no problem, but Zion wouldn't be happy with me."

Claire laughed nervously. "I'm just just glad that kids are lightyears away for Duke and me—we gotta set our wedding date first!"

That was when Jordan and Audrey both noticed a sparkly engagement ring on Claire's left finger.

Before they could say anything about it, Hanneli nudged Claire's pocket with her nose.

"Oh, I'm sorry, silly puppy!" Claire dug a dog treat from her pocket and held it on one hand as she looked down and Hanneli. "You gotta work for it!"

Hanneli barked.

"Okay, baby girl: roll over!"

Hanneli promptly rolled over, so Claire knelt in front of her, feeding her the treat as she praised her for being good. Claire got to her feet and bounced away when she heard her name being called from inside the bar.

Jordan and Audrey stared after her for a moment before heading back towards the car.

"So we've got our lives, Claire is a bartender now, and lucky Duke is about to host the biggest party the Grey Gull has ever seen." Jordan ticked everything off on her fingers as she went. "This is getting weird."

"Yeah, because life in Haven is always normal." Audrey said sarcastically. "Let's not forget that Claire and Duke are _engaged!"_

"Okay, there's that."

"We still need to find Tommy, Vince, and Dave, too."

"We should also consider that since this is a 'parallel universe,' one of them might not even be here."

Audrey gave the other woman a weird look.

"What?" Jordan protested. "I've watched a lot of Star Trek in my lifetime! Things like that just come to me!"

"Remind me to get you a Star Trek charm for your charm bracelet."

Jordan had a record scratch moment. "How did you know about that?"

Audrey winked. "Because I've seen you wear it before."

One of Jordan's most prized possessions was a silver charm bracelet that her husband had given her during their very first Christmas together. Jordan added many charms to it over the years they were together, but she hadn't collected any more in a long time, not after adding the last charm: a tiny cross.

"I—what's with Hanneli?"

Jordan and Audrey looked down at the dog to see that she had her head tilted to the side. Both women followed Hanneli's gaze to see her watching a little girl of about seven years away, but from what Jordan could wager from where she stood, had a clean appearance. She just looked lost and scared.

"What's your name?" Jordan called out.

Instead of answering, the little one turned and fled.

"You saw her, yes?" Jordan asked her blond companion.

"Totally."

"What do we do now?"

"Go find Vince and Dave, I guess."

"What are we going to do when we find them?"

Audrey shrugged. "I haven't thought that far ahead yet."

"Awes—Jesus Christ!"

Jordan winced as she rubbed the top of her bump, where Zion www kicking the most.

"You alright?" Audrey asked. "Should I drop you off at home?"

"No." Jordan exhaled shakily, removing her hand. "I'm fine. Zion just kicks harder than I'd like."

"Are you sure it's not a contraction or false labor?"

"Yes. Let's go already."

Keep it together, Jordan silently scolded herself. This isn't the time to lose your cool and cry. That'll be for later.

* * *

"Well, if it isn't two of our favorite people, and our favorite golden retriever!"

Jordan, Audrey, and Hanneli had arrived at the Haven Herald, and when Vince and Dave heard them come in, they stood out of respect and insisted that the women take their chairs. Hanneli, meanwhile, settled in a dog bed, kept their for her.

"What can we do for you two?" Dave asked as he has Vince pulled up chairs of their own to the desks.

"Jordan and I are in a spot of trouble." Audrey told him sincerely. "All we really need is for you two to listen."

"Alri—"

Dave's promise was cut off by Vince, who was hung up on something. "Both of you are in trouble at the same t—ouch!"

Dave had slugged his brother in the arm.

"What was that for?" squawked Vince.

"Our friends asked us to listen to a story they have to tell, and you're still flapping your gums like an old fool!"

"Flapping my g—" Vince let out a dramatic, affronted gasp. "How dare you!"

Good to see some things never change, thought Jordan.

After Audrey got Vince and Dave to calm down and be mature, she and Jordan tag-teamed in explaining their story.

A perk was that the Troubles existed in this version of Haven, but the downside was that Vince and Dave were under the spell of the current one.

At the very least, they were willing to help their friends.

"And mum's the word on telling your husbands?" Dave asked. "I just want to double check."

"Yes, but we only tell them, and Duke and Claire when it becomes imperative, because believe me, that will happen." Audrey confirmed. "It's just a matter of time."

"Works for me." Dave decided. "Tell us what we can do."

"You guys have lived here your entire lives, right?"

They nodded in unison.

"Then can you tell us how long Nathan and I have been married?"

Vince and Dave stopped to think, but neither could come up with an answer of any sort.

"Huh." Dave said after a minute of wracking his brain. "I can't think of a date on that."

"Neither can I." admitted Vince.

"Then what about Vince and I?" Jordan asked. "Or what about Lizzie? In the other Haven, I'm definitely _not_ her mother. She died very shortly after the one time I met her, anyway."

Vince and Dave were drawing blanks on that, too, so they decided to go through the old archives in search of answers. Audrey helped, although Jordan had a feeling she was actually digging deeper, looking for traces of Tommy, the only one of their posse who had yet to be accounted for.

Jordan, meanwhile, couldn't get the image of the little girl from the Grey Gull out of her head. Borrowing some drawing supplies from Vince and Dave, she set pencil to paper and began to draw the face from memory.

A little known fact about Jordan was that she was a very good artist, and had been since the Iowa days. She'd even gone to art school in New York, but she hit rock bottom after Saúl's death and couldn't do it anymore, so she dropped out.

All of that being said, Jordan found art to be very therapeutic in the years following, so she didn't stop it altogether, and as a result, she soon lost herself inside recreating the image of the mysterious little girl.

She was no doubt the key to solving this Trouble.


	4. Secrets Come To Light

"Jordan, you've been holding out on us! Why didn't you ever tell us you can draw?"

The darker-haired woman jumped when Audrey's voice penetrated her thoughts; Jordan had become so lost in thought while she was drawing that it felt like she had gone to another place entirely… but then again, she always left planet earth when she remembered back to how beautiful and lovely her life in New York had been.

"I have my hidden talents, and you have yours, Parker."

Finished with the picture, Jordan sat the picture down and began massaging feeling back into her own hands—she was very heavy-handed when she drew.

"Does this girl seem familiar to you two?"

Vince and Dave investigated the picture, but they both drew blanks again.

"How old would you say she is?" Dave asked.

"Not older than five." Jordan said initially.

"Probably just a little older than AJ." added Audrey. "Four years old would be my best guess."

"What is a child _that_ young doing, wandering out on their own? The nearest house in that area is a quarter-of-a-mile down the road!"

"This _is_ Haven." Vince reminded his brother._ "Anything_ is possible."

"She also looked well cared for." Jordan recalled. "Someone pass me a clean writing pad."

Audrey did and they all watched Jordan make a list of descriptors about the little girl, since the picture had been drawn in black and white. When Jordan handed Audrey the list, the blond added a few things before passing it along to Dave.

"You guys can keep that, and the picture, too. See if you can do something with that, or see if it jogs your memory."

Jordan leaned back in her chair and caressed her bump when she felt Zion wiggle restlessly. "Did you guys find anything out about marriage or birth records?"

"Plenty, but," Dave started as he stood up. "It's lunchtime, and I'm going to go get sandwiches for everyone from the shop on the corner because it looks like we could be awhile, sorting through all of these records and files here."

Vince rose, too. "Wait for me! Last time you got the sandwiches, you got the wrong ones!"

The brothers bickered all of the way out of the door together.

An abrupt silence fell as the women suddenly realized that they had to mind the Herald for awhile.

"AJ listed earlier, all of the people she can feel," Jordan said after a few minutes. "But she didn't mention Thing One or Thing Two."

"Are you wondering if that could mean something?"

"I am."

"Well, we'll file away it away for safekeeping, how's that?"

Jordan nodded in agreement. "I can live with that. You know—the wheels in my head have been turning since we left the Gull."

Audrey raised her eyebrows. "Can you be any more specific than that?"

"Vince and Dave are chugging along just fine because it's the little things in life that make _them_ happy, but everyone else we've run into is _genuinely_ happy: you and I have our families; Lizzie and Hanneli are _back from the dead,_ and when they were alive, they were deeply loved and longed for; Duke will stand to profit hugely from the Butler twins' birthday bash; and last but not least, he and Claire are newly engaged!"

Jordan was the one to raise her eyebrows now. "All of that sounds like someone is running around, granting wishes."

"You mean like a… _genie?"_

Jordan shrugged. "I'm sure you've long since gathered that weird things happen here by now."

"Okay, I'll give you that."

"Then tell me you found something interesting about 'Haven 2.0' since we got here."

"Here." Audrey handed her a newspaper clipping from nine years prior. "I found Tommy."

It was with a heavy heart that Jordan read the article accompanying the headline of, _'Local police officer dies after sustaining mugging injuries; first delivers local woman's baby.'_

Apparently, Tommy had been dead for nine years in this Haven, and he'd died after fighting off a mugger who had decided to jump Jordan while she was pregnant with Lizzie. Jordan was frightened into labor and everything happened so fast that Tommy didn't have any choice but to assist her. He died from his injuries a few hours later.

"He died saving Lizzie and me?" Jordan threw the paper clipping on her desk and rubbed at her eyes, trying not to cry. "Oh, God…"

Audrey knelt in front of her friend, putting a hand on Jordan's knee. Even Hanneli got up to see what was bothering her pretty human.

"Jordan," Audrey said gently. "What's wrong?"

"Do you remember how I said I was married during my New York years?"

"Mhm. You said your last name was Estrada back then, and that your husband was called Saúl. In our Haven, are you a widow?"

"And a mother, to boot."

Audrey sank to her knees with her hand over her heart, speechless as Jordan kept going.

"We were married for quite a few years because we married young, but we eventually tried for a family and I got pregnant, but Audrey, Saúl never met her."

"What happened to your family?"

"I went into labor when I was home alone, and I got to the hospital in a taxi, but Saúl was hit by a drunk driver when he was on the way there. He and the other driver both died at the scene, it was that bad."

At this point, Hanneli the dog rested her head on Jordan's leg, trying to comfort her. Jordan felt an intense rush of love towards her canine friend, so she ran her fingers through her fur for a few seconds while Audrey waited a few moments.

"We'd named her Maríposa Grace before hand because Grace is my middle name, and in Spanish, Maríposa means butterfly. Posey came early, though, and because I was under so much stress and anguish from finding out about my husband, my daughter's little heart couldn't take it and she was born asleep. I don't even remember anymore how I had the strength to bury my family, but I did it. Two-and-a-half weeks later, I was jumped and violated by the man who activated my Trouble for the first time. Thank God I didn't get pregnant again."

"You know, during the adventure at the Holloway house, Claire said that you once tortured a man for three days with your touch, and that that was why you were no longer her patient by the time we met you here."

Jordan chuckled darkly. "Yeah, that was him. I didn't really 'simmer down' if you will, until I met Dwight almost a year later, and by that time, I'd already found The Guard."

"I am so sorry for everything that happened to you." Audrey said sincerely. "How old would Maríposa be now?"

"Nine—the same age as Lizzie. I fell in love with that girl this morning, and Zion, too, but they make my heartache because I miss my little butterfly so much all of a sudden. Yet, I still love Lizzie and Zion the way I love Maríposa."

"Of course you do—even if part of the situation is unorthodox, you're still mommy to all three of them."

"I—oh, that's odd…"

"What?" Audrey questioned, believing it was time for Jordan to go to the hospital.

"Nothing like that, so cool your jets." Jordan said quickly. "I think I might have just connected two points in this puzzle."

"Don't quit there."

"If indeed I ever encountered a _genie, _I would—first and foremost—wish for a second shot at family life. And even though Dwight is kind of scared of me in the real Haven, I still know him well enough to know that he'd wish for Lizzie and Hanneli back, both happy and healthy."

"Not Lizzie's mother, too?"

Jordan snorted. "They were lucky enough to get away from Oona, after what she did to Lizzie. Dwight said that Oona's dying in jail when Lizzie was a toddler was a very good thing."

Audrey didn't know what to say to that because everybody knew that Jordan had a dark side just underneath her enigmatic layer, but at the moment, it sounded like even though Jordan was having a fling with Nathan in the real Haven, she still cared more about Dwight on any given day.

"What would you wish for?" Jordan asked her.

"Happiness, and whatever joys came with it. I never knew what that was a kid, but it's all I've ever wanted."

Before Audrey could say anything else, Vince and Dave came back with the food, so she stood and helped Jordan up so they could get ready for lunch.

Even if nothing was really making sense right now, they still had each other, and that counted for something. Right?


	5. 1955

Working on full stomachs yielded in higher quality results.

"Audrey, look!"

Vince handed Audrey a newspaper clipping and read it through before handing it to Jordan. The headline read, _Lifelong Haven residents Nathan Wournos and Audrey Parker to wed._

"This is from January 2002." Jordan observed. "Has anyone found the wedding engagement that goes along with it?"

Audrey found it quickly and sped-read it. "Says Nathan and I goot married in July 2002."

"Anything interesting happen on that day?"

"Other than that it was ninety-nine degrees because we were in the middle of a heatwave, not really, no."

"Jordan, I found some things about you."

Dave leaned across the table and handed the dark-haired woman a small pile of newspaper clippings that he'd found.

The first clipping was from June of 1999, announcing hers and Dwight's engagement. Like Audrey's article, this one described her and Dwight as lifelong citizens of Haven, and that was malarkey because she was from Des Moines, Iowa, and Dwight was from Arizona City. He didn't like to talk about it. The middle newspaper clipping was from eleven months later in May 2000, announcing the wedding, and the final article was from June 2002, a better announcement of Lizzie's birth."

"Jordan, where were you in 1999?" Dave wanted to know.

"New York City." She answered in the sort of tone that didn't invite questions. "I didn't even get to Haven until August 2002."

"Fair enough."

They waited for Vince to say something in agreement, but he just let out a grunt because he was deep in thought about something else altogether.

"What's the matter?" Jordan asked kindly.

"This little girl _is_ familiar, now that I think about it, " he indicated Jordan's drawing. "But it just took me a minute to place her."

"Why?"

"Because she hasn't been seen since 1955."

1955? Jordan thought. That was the first time anyone living in our Haven really remembers the Troubles first happening.

Dawning comprehension hit Dave at his brother's words. "Ohhh…"

"Um, hello?" Jordan said, looking between Dave and his brother. "What's that leap you just made?"

Dave didn't answer, but he followed Vince to the back room for a minute. They returned with with a file, setting it on Jordan's desk.

Vince handed Jordan a photograph from the file, and seeing how it was yellowing and delicate, she handled it carefully. When she saw who was in it, she gasped, and with reason: the subject of the photo was the little girl from earlier, but dressed in clothing in accordance with the fifties.

"Forgive me for going out on a limb," she said as she passed the picture to Audrey. "But did we see a _ghost?"_

"That's the million dollar question." Dave said.

"It wouldn't have been the first time I've seen a ghost." Audrey commented casually.

Everybody stared at her in surprise.

"What? Hand to God, my group home was haunted."

"Did have a ghost haunt you, ever?" Jordan asked.

"She was a little girl, and she followed me around for the entire time I lived in the group home. She was about seven, and I named her Bonnie."

Vince and Dave looked at Audrey in fascination while Jordan just shook her head. "I'd say that you're kidding, but you aren't displaying any signs of lying."

"Just don't tell Claire. _Please?"_

"You got it," Jordan promised. "But you are _such_ a weirdo."

Audrey ignored Jordan's jibe, getting the conversation back on track. "What is the name of the little girl in the photo?"

"Karen Silsbury." answered Jordan, reading the name on the back of picture. "Silsbury sounds like any English last name. Were they from England?"

"According to these records," Dave reported as he looked through what appeared to be old police and real estate reports. "Karen was born in Haven, but her parents, Arthur and Madeline, moved here from Leeds, England, right after the end of the Second World War to get a fresh start."

"What happened to the Silsburys?" Audrey asked cautiously.

"Arthur was killed in a car accident in mid-1950, just before Karen was born, and Madeline died in a house fire in March 1955. Faulty wiring."

"And Karen?"

"Missing, presumed dead. Best guest, according to the report, is that she got lost in the woods and became a victim of the elements. That, or she got pulled out to sea."

"Out to sea?" Jordan echoed, setting down paperweights on the corners of an old map that Audrey was trying to unfurl. "Where was the House of Silsbury? Not on Marston Road, I hope?"

Vince and Dave looked at her funny.

"What do you know about Marston Road?" Vince queried.

"Nothing." Jordan backpedaled quickly when she realized that the events of the past Halloween—only a week ago for her and Audrey—hadn't happened in this timeline at all. "I've just heard that there's an abandoned house over there, or something."

"That's what I heard, too." Audrey said, poring over the map, now that she had the map weighed down. "Will someone show me where the Silsburys lived?"

Jordan gathered around Audrey's desk with Vince and Dave, and watched as Dave proceeded to point to a particular spot on the map, fairy adjacent to the water.

Audrey furrowed her eyebrows in confusion when saw where was pointing. "Angler Cape? But there's only one establishment in that _exact_ area."

"The Grey Gull." Jordan realized. "No wonder we saw Karen there. Will she haunt us?"

"This from the one who called me a weirdo because I had a wee ghostie follow me for years—"

"Yup, still weird—"

"We don't even have a clue if Karen is a ghost or an apparition, or what."

Dave shuddered. "I can't believe there's a difference.

"What _I_ can't believe is that someone decided to build a bar, of all things, on top of a site where someone died." Vince tacked on.

"Are you superstitious, Vince?" Audrey teased.

"Of course not!" he replied a little too quickly. "Don't be ridiculous."

"He's _very_ superstitious." Dave provided gleefully. "Has been since we were kids."

"Cut it out!" Vince threw a paper ball at his brother. "Don't encourage them; April Fool's Day was bad enough!"

Jordan was dying to know what had happened on April Fool's Day, but she decided to be the mature one. "If we can find Karen soon, we can see if she knows anything about what's happening."

"If she's nice like, like Audrey's Bonnie was," Dave suggested. "She could probably send you to back to the time where you belong."

Inwardly, Jordan shuddered. She hadn't thought of the possibility of Karen being unfriendly.

"Then what do we do?" She asked. "Karen Silsbury is our only lead, and it's not like Audrey and I can go looking in the woods for her."

"Jordan!" Audrey hissed.

"Sorry." Jordan apologized when she realized why he pale-skinned friend had started blushing suddenly. "You _are_ showing—just a smidgen, though."

Audrey actually blushed brighter as she glided her hand over her lower middle. "What? Really? Nathan doesn't even seem to know yet!"

"Maybe you're growing twins in there."

Audrey sighed heavily. "Nathan would have a field day, and I'd go grey early, especially if they were identical… what do you two think?"

Vince and Dave had said nothing when their friends started discussing pregnancy, but that was because they were bachelors, and didn't really know what to say.

"I think they're creeped out." Jordan snickered.

"Now there's a thing we don't see very often." mused Audrey.

"I agr—okay, okay, I'm sorry."

Zion, who had been asleep, woke up and chose that moment to start kicking furiously.

"Z being cranky?"

"No." Jordan shook her head as she continued to soothe her baby daughter. "Zion just doesn't like it when mommy picks on Uncle Dave and Uncle Vince."

"Good." Vince huffed. "It'll be good to have a little one on our side."

He glanced up at the clock on the far wall, and when he took note of the time, he stood and stretched. "Not that today hasn't been fun, but there are still some things that Dave and I need to hammer out for tomorrow's edition."

Jordan and Audrey caught their friend's drift and stood, too, thanking their friends for their help. Sensing it was time to go, Hanneli stood and stretched out her limbs before following her human and her human's companion out of the front door.

When the trio was gone, Vince looked to his brother. "Do we tell them the truth about the Silsbury family?"

Dave immediately turned on the defense. "No! What we told them _is_ the truth!"

"But—"

"Those are for sitting, which you and I need to do because we have a deadline to meet, and that's that!"

Vince decided not argue with Dave, and just helped him clean up the Silsbury file, setting it aside for later.

Soon, they were both typing away at their computers, editing, like nothing had happened.

Neither brother had noticed Karen Silsbury herself, lurking in the corner, near Hanneli's bed; she had been surveying the scene as they'd said goodbye to Jordan, Audrey, and Hanneli.

She had been there for quite awhile, but since she wasn't quite ghost or apparition, she had the ability to to make herself invisible at will. That's what she had done while she watched the grown-ups discuss her parents.

Karen didn't know what to think about her daddy because she never met him, but she missed her mommy. Deeply.

But because Karen had made herself invisible, nobody had noticed her manipulating Dave's words.

She didn't want the pretty ladies to go just yet.

She needs a mommy first, even if only for a night.

Question was, who would she pick: Audrey, or Jordan?


	6. Dwight Finds Out

Later that night, after AJ fell asleep, Audrey lay on her bed at home, contemplating how to tell Nathan that they were going to be parents because it was clear that he didn't know she was pregnant. AJ had apparently been suspecting already, but not Nathan.

"Audrey?"

The blond looked up at the sound of her name and smiled as Nathan sat with her.

"Where did you go with Jordan today?" he asked.

"To the Herald."

"More genealogy research about your past?"

Realizing that this was a pre-established thing between the two of them, Audrey nodded. "Yeah, and she was bored, so she tagged along."

"Find anything?"

"Not there, no."

Nathan looked curiously at his wife. "If not there, then where?"

"At the doctor's office, actually." Audrey nodded again and handed Nathan the sonogram she'd shown Jordan earlier. "I found this."

She watched him in anticipation as he processed what he was looking at, and when he finally _did_ realize it, Nathan put the picture back and gazed at Audrey with nothing but love and excitement.

"You're pregnant?"

"Yes—"

Before Audrey could even finish, her mind was already other places because Nathan had already gotten her out of her pajama top and was covering as much of her body as he could in kisses.

Audrey soon found herself wondering, hoping, and praying that their current situation could one day be a reality when things got back to normal.

* * *

In the hallway, Karen was perched on top of the bookshelf, still completely invisible.

She'd followed Audrey home first because she liked that she believed in ghosts, and while Nathan was oblivious to her presence, Audrey was vaguely aware of her, but as cool as she was, she was lacking in the pizzaz that Karen was looking for. So she got struck off her list of candidates.

Even Duke and Claire had been candidate for awhile, but still fell short.

If Dwight and Jordan didn't work, then Karen didn't know what she'd do.

* * *

Karen would readily admit to haunting Haven after her mother died, but she wasn't _dead_ per se. She was actually stuck in another dimension and had been since 1955, not aging a day, and not even discovering her wish-granting ability until Audrey showed up.

Karen even hatched a plan and had gone about granting wishes, testing people out.

Audrey and Jordan had started putting the pieces together, and that was good because she was getting restless.

Jordan was her last chance.

* * *

"Mommy?"

Jordan's heart fluttered at the sound of Lizzie's voice because even though she'd known her for about a day now, she really loved her and now positively loved being called mommy.

Right now, Lizzie was clad in her purple pajamas, but she was wide awake and looking slightly spooked.

"I thought you were asleep, sweetie." Jordan beckoned her daughter over. "Come cuddle with me until daddy comes back from the store."

Lizzie bounded over and was cuddling with Jordan in a heartbeat. "Why is daddy at the store?"

"Because your sister and I really want ice cream, but there wasn't any in the freezer, so daddy said he would go get some for us."

Lizzie rubbed her blue eyes and yawned, nodding towards the oak chest Jordan had laying open on the bed with her. "Are you looking at your memory box again?"

"Yes, and you can look at it with me, but first tell me why you're up: it's after ten."

Lizzie looked up at Jordan with complete seriousness. "Mommy, do you believe in ghosts?"

Jordan couldn't lie to Lizzie—the answer to the her question was yes; she'd just laughed off Audrey's recount of being haunted by Bonnie as a kid because it had been so out of the blue.

"Actually, yes. Why do you ask?"

"Because I think I saw one in my room just now."

Jordan raised her eyebrows, confounded that Lizzie wasn't freaked out. "Oh, really?"

Lizzie nodded and leaned back against her mother. "Yeah, but she was younger than me and dressed in old-timey clothes."

"Did she say anything to you?"

"Not to be scared, and that her name is Karen."

Note to self, Jordan thought. Call Audrey in the morning.

_"Were _you scare of her?"

Lizzie shook her head. "No, because I think she was lonely, so I let her stay on my bed with me."

"Well, that was nice of you."

_"Should_ I be scared of Karen?"

"I wouldn't think so, not after she told you not to be, and especially not after you showed her kindness."

"Okay." Satisfied, Lizzie changed the subject. "May I see your arm?"

Wondering what Lizzie was getting at, Jordan instinctively let her hold the arm with the tattoo on it, and was quite surprised to see that she didn't have the Guard symbol inked there anymore. Instead of that, she had a beautiful purple butterfly with the word 'maríposa' written under it in a fancy green script.

"Daddy said that Maríposa died before I came along."

"She did." Jordan confirmed. "I miss her."

"Do you think that Posey and I would be buddies?" the nine-year-old asked.

"For sure, and I bet she would have liked being called Posey."

Jordan handed Lizzie a green baby blanket from the chest.

"I made this for her, but she never got a chance to use it."

Lizzie held the soft blanket to her face and breathed in the scent—it smelled like vanilla and oranges.

"I think Posey would have liked this, mommy." Lizzie said as she handed the blanket back.

"Why the sudden interest in your butterfly-sister?" Jordan asked as she folded the small blanket up and put it away. "Because I've got Zion growing in my tummy?"

Lizzie nodded. "Yeah, but I wonder about Maríposa all the time."

"So do I, but why not just ask me?"

"Because I don't want to make you sad."

"It makes me sad that she's an angel," Jordan told her. "But do you know what I think?"

"What, mommy?"

"That it's good to talk about Maríposa."

"So you don't forget, and so I can imagine what she'd be like?"

"You got it."

Lizzie smiled faintly; she was fading fast. "Do you think my sister is looking out for me and Zion?"

"Yes, baby, I do."

"Do you think maybe Karen would keep an eye on me, too?"

"If she chooses to," Jordan reasoned. "But I wouldn't be scared if she wants to make friends."

"Because I was nice to her?"

"Exactly."

"Okay…"

Just like that, Lizzie was out cold.

Boy, do I have a weird kid, Jordan thought.

Nevertheless, she pulled Lizzie close and stroked her hair, just listening to her breathe for awhile. In her womb, Zion lay quietly—for the time being—and at her feet, Hanneli was asleep and dreaming.

Jordan was content but couldn't deny that as nice as Karen was being in fabricating all of these joys and pleasures for her, she just didn't belong here and had to restore order before something went wrong.

* * *

"Babe?"

Dwight was back from the store and was amused by the sight in front of him in the bedroom.

"Lizzie couldn't sleep?"

"Something like that. Did you get the ice cream?"

"Of course." Dwight scooped Lizzie into his arms with ease. "I'll put her back and bring you your ice cream. How does that sound?"

"Perfect."

After Jordan finished her ice cream and set her bowl to the side, Zion was wide awake and kicking. Feeling a little too confined, Jordan exposed her bump to let it air, and that allowed her and Dwight see Zion's limbs rolling just under the surface.

"Just another week," Dwight remarked in awe as he followed Zion's movements with his palm. "And we can finally hold her and kiss her."

Only a week? Jordan thought. Oh, God.

Come on, J. Focus.

"I can't wait!" Zion gave Jordan an extra hard kick, making waitress wince. "But she's more than welcome to come early!"

Uncomfortable because of Zion's frenzied movements, Jordan burrowed into Dwight's side.

"What is it?" He asked, feeling the baby move against him. "I've known you long enough to know when you're sitting on something. Does this have to do with why Lizzie spent the whole afternoon reading about ghosts and haunted architecture in Maine?"

Jordan's feelings for Dwight compelled her to tell the truth, and besides—it was time that someone bedsides her, Audrey, Vince, and Dave knew about what was happening.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

She couldn't look him in the eyes because she was only seconds away from completely bursting the happy bubble she'd been in all day.

"Jordan," Dwight guided her face to make her look at him. "You are my wife _and_ my best friend—if what you have to say is the truth, no matter how odd it is, I will take you at your word."

Changing positions to straddle him, Jordan took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. "I don't belong in Haven, and neither does Audrey. Not in this version, anyway."

Jordan had his attention at this, and she began explaining things to him, although she left out any mention of the Guard when she noticed he was also devoid of his mark. All of that business about Audrey's personality-recycling didn't seem to exist here, either, so she also kept that quiet.

When Jordan finished, Dwight got on board without hesitation, much like he did whenever there was a problem in the real Haven.

Dwight even realized on his own that by the time this whole thing was over and put to bed, that he and Jordan more than likely wouldn't remember anything about it. This also meant that he'd be in a world where Lizzie and Hanneli were long since dead, Zion wouldn't exist, and he and Jordan weren't even together because she was having a fling with Nathan.

The cleaner had literally everything to lose, but if he had to give up this happy life to help Jordan restore order, then he would because he was very sure that if he loved Jordan as deeply as he did here and she loved him just as much, they would find their way back to each other in the real Haven.

Yet, one thing remained that was causing the wheels in his brain to turn just a little bit longer.

* * *

"What about Karen, though?"

Jordan shrugged. "What about her?"

"Lizzie saw her, didn't she?"

"Yeah. She said Karen was in her bedroom, and that's why she came in here—she didn't know what to make of her."

_"Is_ Karen a ghost, Jordan?"

"I don't know. Audrey and I saw her as plain as day, and she looked completely solid, but I wouldn't be surprised if Karen can turn invisible."

"If this was any other place than Haven, what you just said would sound completely ludicrous, yet, it's only been you, Audrey, and Lizzie who have seen her?"

"Yes."

Dwight looked around. "Is she here?"

Jordan scanned the room for her non-corporeal friend and spotted her quickly: Karen was on the bed, giving Hanneli a vigorous tummy rub to the point where Hanneli had yet to wake up and was wagging her tail in her sleep.

"She's playing with Hanneli. Does it weird you out that you can't see her but I can?"

"No." Dwight confessed. "I'm sure she'll let me see her when or if she wants it."

Hanneli suddenly sneezed loudly and curled up in a tight ball, just as she always did when she was feeling sleepy. Karen saw Jordan looking at her, so she blew her a kiss before turning invisible to her and leaving the room.

"She left, didn't she?" Dwight asked when he saw Jordan waving at what looked like an empty space.

"Mhm." Jordan reached over and turned off her bedside lamp, sending the room into darkness. "Now if you don't mind, Zion is actually being nice to mommy and sleeping; I do not want to miss this chance to a get a peaceful slumber. Lay with me, please."

Dwight did, wrapping an arm around his love's middle, holding her close and kissed her as he felt Zion shift in her sleep slightly as she settled for the night.

Jordan was asleep in a matter of minutes, and so was Dwight.

* * *

Karen fell asleep in Lizzie's room, next to her on the bed. She'd always wanted a sister.

This family was perfect.

Next step: getting Jordan alone.


	7. Changing Of The Tides

The next day, Sunday, Jordan woke with a start because of Zion—she'd hit her limit with remaining horizontal, so she took matters into her own feet and kicked her mommy awake.

"Okay, baby. Chill out—mommy's up."

It wasn't until Jordan had relieved herself, thrown her bathrobe on over her pajamas and greeted Hanneli that she realized that Dwight wasn't even in the house. Just as she wondered where he'd gotten to, she caught sight of the time: ten-thirty.

The front door opening a few minutes later brought Jordan out of her thoughts and she smiled when Dwight came in from outside and kissed her on the cheek.

"Good morning. You look a little confused."

"I guess I'm just not used to sleeping in." She returned the kiss, despite her state of perplexity. "I always get up early because I'm at the diner all the time."

"Well, you're on maternity leave now, and the doctor said that you need plenty of sleep before Zion gets here, and you haven't been sleeping well for the past few days because the baby has been extra fidgety. I figured it would be best to let you catch up on your sleep."

"Thanks, babe, and fidgety is right: Zion kicked the crap out of me so I'd get up."

Suddenly realizing something else, Jordan looked around the room for a second.

"Where's Lizzie?"

"She's got her ballet class right now, and since she's already got a play date with Vivian Shepard right after, Vivian's mom is going to pick her up and bring her back to their house for a few hours."

"And Vivian is in Lizzie's ballet class?"

Dwight nodded. "Yeah, so we have quite some time to start formulating a plan to get you and Audrey home. Is Karen around?"

Jordan shook her head. "I haven't seen her yet, but I have a feeling she's the silly type, so when she does show up, she'll probably do something like 'accidentally on purpose' confuse Hanneli or make flour bombs, and speaking of baking ingredients—"

"You and Zion would like pancakes for breakfast?"

"You got it, lover."

Dwight bowed regally. "Then off I go."

* * *

Feeling in desperate need of a shower and fresh clothes, Jordan made herself up for the day and when she came out to the dining room, a hot stack of banana pancakes—Jordan's favorite—was ready for her consumption.

Even as she and Dwight discussed a basic plan of action, Jordan really loved the little charmed life bubble they were in because she hadn't truly experienced it since New York, and she missed it. But she was more than thankful to be experiencing it here with the one she deeply and _truly_ loved.

Breakfast time ended much too quickly for Jordan's liking, and they soon cleaned up their dirty dishes and left the house for the station with Hanneli walking in between them. Predictably, Audrey and Nathan could be found in their office at Audrey's desk.

"You know, Audrey," Nathan said to his wife as the other couple sat across the desk from them. "If we just let people—even our friends—just waltz in here, we should start charging them."

Audrey gave him a swat on the back of the head before turning back to the other two. "Don't mind him—he's just grumpy because AJ chose to hang out with Uncle Duke and Auntie Claire instead of us today."

Dwight snickered as Jordan spoke directly to Audrey. "I explained the situation to Dwight last night. Have you told Nathan yet?"

"Yep, and he's on board."

To back his wife up, Nathan spoke. "About Karen—Audrey said that you two have seen her and that she felt her presence at the loft last night. Why can't I see her?"

"It looks like she's picking and choosing who she wants to see her." Dwight said.

"Can you see her?"

"No." Dwight shook his head. "But apparently, she visited Lizzie last night and even spoke to her. Lizzie saw her as clearly as Audrey and Jordan did."

"Well, that makes three of us who can see her." remarked Audrey. "What about Hanneli?"

"Karen played around with her, and she wasn't even invisible," Jordan recalled. "So no, I don't think Hanneli can see her, either."

"So what exactly _is_ Karen doing?" Nathan asked. "Granting wishes?"

Jordan shrugged. "Yes, but intuition tells me that our friend is putting her feelers out and building up to some sort of endgame."

"I don't like the sound of that, especially since she hasn't shown us a mean bone yet."

"She's also been a five-year-old since the fifties." Dwight reminded him. "She's probably a lot smarter than she's letting on."

"Fantastic."

"Audrey, how long have you and Nathan been here so far?"

During this time, Audrey had been tearing out pieces of paper from a jumbo notepad on an easel on the corner and sticking them on the wall. The papers had writing on them, and they turned out to be a list of everything that had happened so far in chronological order.

"About an hour or so, and I made this list for Nathan. Feel free to add to it if you want."

"Okay," Jordan said after they looked everything over. "Now that we know that everyone present, along with Claire, Duke, Dave, and Vince have all had wishes granted in some way or another, we should—Audrey, what?"

Jordan had suddenly become aware of Audrey tugging on her sleeve, much like a young child trying to get their mother's attention. When she turned and saw exactly what Audrey was looking at, she realized she had a good reason to be speechless: not even four feet away were a pair of identical black draft horses.

Now, draft horses were a lot bigger than your average horse, and these two were no exception because while they made Audrey feel and look even shorter than she already was, their backs had yet a few more inches on Jordan's height alone.

In a word, these horses were giants.

Audrey and Nathan both shied away from the creatures, but the Hendricksons approached the one one on the left because it had been staring them down, curious. Experienced with animals because of their childhoods on farms, it came as no surprise that they had the horse content and friendly in no time.

"Where did you come from, beautiful one?" Jordan cooed to the animal, rubbing it on the snout. "Someone's gotta be missing you and your buddy."

The horse just made a happy noise and swished its tail, enjoying the attention, while the other horse actually curled up on the floor the way horses do and started giving Hanneli a bath, having taken a shine to her for whatever odd reason.

"What the hell?" Audrey muttered, having a feeling that that wouldn't be the only time today that she'd ask the question. "Are any of us allergic?"

At that exact moment, Nathan let out a massive sneeze. "Me!"

Luckily, none of the animals were spooked by the sneeze, but the humans all became serious.

"Did anyone wish for horses?"

"No!" The other three answered in unison.

"Then we need to find a way to return them to who ever wished for them—oh, hello."

Karen had materialized out of nowhere, handing a bridle and reigns each to Jordan and Dwight. Jordan took hers, although Dwight did so apprehensively because to him, it looked like the equipment was floating in midair. When he finally took it, Karen blew kisses to Jordan and Audrey before turning invisible and leaving the room noiselessly.

"Karen was just here, wasn't she?" Nathan asked, opening a window.

"Uh-huh." Jordan confirmed, holding up her bridle and reigns. "But look—she's being helpful, just like I called she would."

"But to what end? You _also_ said that the kid has an endgame."

Dwight cleared his throat in a pointed manner. "How about we prep the horses and then two of us take them outside and ask around?"

Everybody decided this was a good idea and left him to his own devices as he coaxed the horse in the floor into a standing position. After Jordan successfully convinced Audrey that her horse wasn't actually the boogeyman in disguise, the two prepped the second horse.

No sooner were the horses ready than a new voice joined the conversation.

"Excuse me?"

Everyone turned to see two young women standing in the doorway. Both were identical down to the last freckle, and they were dressed for horseback riding, but all that was missing were the horses.

"We're the Butler twins, Ashley and Emma," the twin on the right explained. "And this is going to sound weird, but Emma just wished for a pair of horses, and they appeared in our backyard and then just ran away. We only just tracked them here."

"Then look no further."

Jordan handed the reigns of her horse to Ashley, and Dwight handed his reigns to Emma. Realizing that something was up and knowing better than to ask any questions because this was Haven, Ashley and Emma left quickly, carefully guiding their large pets out of the room.

"Like what wasn't weird," Jordan said, breaking the awkward silence they had settled in the twins' wake. "But at least we know Karen is working her ways outside of our inner circle."

"You guys," Nathan was looking out of the window he'd opened. "Come look at this!"

Jordan, Dwight, and Audrey gathered at the window, one of them even opening the window next to it, so as to get a better look at the street because a numerous amount of _zoo animals_ were all running—some flying, even—down the road. In the middle of the throng, was a giraffe, and riding bareback on said giraffe was a twelve-year-old boy who looked like he was having the time of his life.

Jordan, Audrey, Dwight, and Nathan withdrew back into the office, with everyone looking at Jordan expectantly.

"Why is everybody looking at me?" The human taser squawked.

"Probably because you've had the most interactions with Karen, and you think fast on your feet." Dwight mused.

"Well, I don't know about _your_ feet," Jordan promptly sat in Audrey's desk chair and propped her feet up on a box to relieve the ache. "But _mine_ are already tired because it looks like Zion is not a fan of me standing upright for too long."

Nobody said anything for a minute and Jordan raised her eyebrows at Dwight and Nathan.

"Why are you two still here?" She barked. "Haven doesn't have a zoo, and yet we just saw some random kid riding _bareback_ on a _giraffe_ down _Main Street!_ Go track those animals down and contain them before another wish goes awry!"

Feeling properly chastised, the men hurried out.

Audrey turned to to Jordan, intending to make a joke about their husbands, but that thought went completely out the door when she that in a heartbeat, her friend had gone from sitting upright to being hunched over in pain and reaching for her hand. Audrey hurried over and didn't even flinch when Jordan held on to her hand for dear life as she breathed her way through what was obviously a contraction.

When it passed, Jordan looked at Audrey, ready to cry. "Zion's coming early!"

Before Audrey could offer any means of comfort, Jordan became shrouded in a bright light, and the next second, she winked out of the room altogether.


	8. Mercy Is A Funny Word

**I've never enjoyed writing a story this much!**

* * *

Jordan materialized in what appeared to be a fully furnished baby nursery, but that became the least of her concern when she realized that she'd left her phone behind on Audrey's desk back at the station. Her alarm started mounting when she further concluded that she was locked in the nursery and that the windows were painted shut, so she couldn't even pry those open to call for help.

Not that she had the full strength she usually did.

"Zion, please be good for mommy." Jordan arched her back, trying to accommodate her baby. "I need you to stay in there for as long as possible."

Jordan was rewarded with a steady stream of kicks and thanked her lucky stars that it wasn't another contraction. Even still, Jordan calmed herself as best she could because the last thing she needed was for Zion to be in an distress right now.

"Wow."

Zion had hit Jordan so hard with her elbow that she had no choice but to sit in the nearby rocking chair and massage the edge of her middle where the baby had struck.

"You _really_ don't like it when mommy stays upright for long, do you?"

Wiggle. Wiggle. Wiggle.

At least she didn't jab her again. "Thank you for calming down. Mommy appreciates it."

Zion finally went blessedly still, as though she was falling asleep, giving Jordan the chance to lean back in the rocking chair while she tried to think of what to do next.

She knew Karen wasn't in the immediate vicinity because she couldn't see her, let alone sense her, which meant that she was outside, causing mischief somewhere. Jordan still had to wonder why the girl picked her, and whether or not she intended her some kind of harm.

Don't be ridiculous, she told herself after a moment of thinking things through. If Karen intended you any kind of harm, she wouldn't have stuck you and Zion in a warm and furnished room, would she? No.

Jordan hated to admit it, but there wasn't anything she could do except wait for someone to come find her.

* * *

Meanwhile, poor Audrey was trying not to stroke out. She'd seen a great number of bizarre things since coming to Haven, but someone—especially a friend—vanishing in front of her?

_ That_ was a first.

Hanneli, on the other hand, let out a long howl of distress because she didn't know how to comprehend her human randomly vanishing on her. Audrey calmed her and when Hanneli was quiet, Audrey took out her phone and called Jordan, only to realize quickly that she'd left her phone on her desk.

She hung up and called Jordan's hubby.

"Audrey, thank goodness." Dwight said when he picked up on his end. "We just contained most of the animals, and—"

"Dwight, be quiet!" The pregnant officer snapped, cutting him off. "Jordan is gone!"

There was dead silence from the cleaner, and then a "What?"

"Karen teleported Jordan out of here! She left Hanneli, but Dwight—just before that, Jordan had a contraction!"

Dwight felt his heart bottom out. "You stay there, and—"

His words were drowned out by the sudden sound of metal crashing into and grinding into more metal. "What the hell was _that?"_

Audrey dashed to the window just in time to see a rogue rhinoceros plow its way through most of the cars before vanishing, hopefully out of existence.

"That one animal you couldn't contain—a rhino—just plowed through a ton of cars, including mine, and then just vanished into thin air."

"Good to know. You stay put with Hanneli, and I'll come get you both."

* * *

Dwight's truck had enough room not only for Audrey and Hanneli, but also a perplexed Claire.

"Umm… what's going on?" The pretty bartender asked. "We just saw a stampede of animals belonging on the _Serengeti_ run past the park, and there was a kid riding bareback on giraffe!"

Audrey turned around in her seat to face Claire. "Was that kid like, twelve, and did the animals vanish into thin air?"

"Ye—hey, wait! How did you know?"

"Because we saw the kid, too, and I just saw a _rhino_ vanish into thin air after decimating almost all the cars on Main Street! And where is AJ?"

"In the park with Duke, playing with a herd of kittens."

"Pardon?"

"That's what I said—AJ randomly wished for kittens to play with, and then boom—they just… showed up."

"And how did you get _here?"_

"I wished to be anywhere but that spot because I'm really allergic to cats, and then I appeared in the backseat of Dwight's truck. He almost drove off the road." Claire explained. "There's a Trouble at work, isn't there?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Claire said. "If Duke and AJ are playing with kitties in the park, and all of us—even Hanneli—are here, then who's with Jordan?"

Wondering where her patience was coming from, Audrey explained the situation as it was thus far to Claire, and by the end, the doctor was a mixture of sober because she'd immediately decided to sacrifice her happy life—despite the risk of not remembering any of it later—but also fascinated because this was one of the most interesting Troubles she'd ever seen, the others being Jordan's, Audrey's, Dwight's, Audrey's, and Nathan's.

"Wait." She said suddenly when she realized that they had pulled up in front of the Herald and that they were all getting out of the truck. "Why are we here and not out looking for Jordan? She's in labor, alone, and only something that's not quite a _ghost_ knows where she is!"

"I know you and that you've got that tunnel vision habit when you're on a mission," Audrey told her as they follows the guys and Hanneli across the sidewalk and into the newspaper office. "But Vince and Dave know what's going on, and they also have maps of Haven that go back for… who knows _how_ long! Now come on—keep your head in the game!"

* * *

A few blocks away, Karen sat perched in an oak tree in the backyard of the House of Moorhead, brothers Danny and Felix—aged sixteen and eleven, but very much best friends—had taken a pause in their batting practice. They were quite unaware of Karen's prescence, or that she was watching them because she planned to acquire an extra sibling or two in addition to the one she already had her eyes on, and if push came to shove, it would be by any means necessary.

"Danny," Felix turned to his brother. "What would be something you would wish for?"

Danny gave his brother a "Really?" expression; he loved his brother, but sometimes his questions were amazingly random.

"You stopped the game for _that?"_

"Come on, tell me—I want to see if your wish is what I think it is!"

Danny gave a theatrical sigh. "I'd wish for dinosaurs to be real again."

Felix lit up. "That's what _I'd_ wish for!"

Very interested now, Karen leaned forward. This was getting really good.

Come on, she pleaded silently. Just say it.

"I wish," the brothers chimed in unison. "That dinosaurs were back!"

Utterly delighted because she'd always fancied the ancient terrifying lizards, Karen did what she did best and conjured up as many species of dinosaur that she could think of.

At first, Danny and Felix thought that the small triceratops, grazing a mere four feet away, was fake, but the closer they looked, the more they realized that it was as real as they were. What made the boys freak out and run into the house was the handful of pterodactyls flying many miles above in a circle, just like vultures.

Pterodactyls were carnivorous.

Karen loved dinosaurs through and through, so this was her favorite wish to date.

She wanted very much to pet the triceratops, but she felt a tugging at her soul: Jordan.

* * *

To the waitress' dismay, Zion's nap didn't last for long because she had started kicking again, desperate to be in the world already.

It certainly didn't help that nothing, not even lullabies, would pacify Zion, and although Jordan had yet to admit it as she felt her daughter moving ever-so-slowly towards the birth canal, this was technically her third pregnancy, meaning that things had the potential to go on the fast track.

She really hoped someone would find her soon because she really did not want to give birth alone, or on the floor.

A faint popping noise to her left caught her attention, and she turned to see that Karen had appeared.

"Hey, Karen." Despite being compromised, Jordan wanted to befriend her because she was, no matter how she looked at it, a prisoner of the little one. "I'm so happy to see you now. I missed you."

Karen approached her where she remained in the rocking chair, but said nothing, so Jordan tried again.

"Sweetheart, will you please let me go?"

Karen spoke for the first time to Jordan, and it was in a firm tone that meant business. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because then I will never see you again, and I need you."

Jordan raised her eyebrows. "Can you tell me what you need me _for?"_

Karen shook her head and said nothing again.

Jordan almost felt like she was grasping at straws now. "But I don't belong here, and neither does Audrey."

"I know."

"Then why won't you let me leave? The baby is coming!"

Karen reached out and almost lovingly, touched a hand to Jordan's middle, which, because of the labor, was as hard as a rock by this point. She was completely fascinated when she pressed down to feel a barrage of kicks and punches, the baby's way of responding in kind. Zion found her equally fascinating.

One thing that was immediately apparent, though, was that Karen was purposefully ignoring how uncomfortable Jordan was.

"If you won't let me go, will you at least bring me Dwight or Audrey?"

Karen wasn't without mercy, so with a mere twirl of the wrist, she made Audrey appear.

Instead of getting confused, Audrey zeroed in on Karen. "Of _all_ wishes to grant, why on earth would you bring _those?"_

"Audrey," Jordan let out a small moan of discomfort as she felt a pain spasm ripple through her body. "Please don't piss her off—we were just getting somewhere!"

"Jordan, someone wished for dinosaurs!"

_"What?!"_

Before either Jordan or Audrey could say anything, they heard the distinct sound of a dinosaur cry in the distance.

Karen tilted her head to the side for a listen, clearly interested and then teleported out of the house altogether.

"Of course." Audrey muttered. "Because no five-year-old would pass up the chance to see a live dinosaur."

"Audrey?"

Jordan was now on the floor in the corner and reaching for her, just wanting to be held. Audrey hurried over and sat with her, smoothing back her hair and pressing her cool hands to Jordan's hot skin, anything to make her comfortable.

"I'm here, I'm here."

Jordan leaned into her, thankful for the support. "I think the next contraction will be soon, but I don't know just when."

"Then rest." Audrey cooed, letting Jordan rest her head against her own. "Just rest."

"Have you ever delivered a baby before?" Jordan asked softly.

"Mhm. On my last case before I moved to Haven, I helped an expectant mother deliver a baby boy. He was perfect and healthy."

"Good…"

Another dinosaur noise filled the air and Jordan grew fearful, but Audrey, despite her own fear and her own squirmy baby, remained strong for her friend. Jordan's needs were more important.

"Rest now." repeated Audrey. "Hold my hand if it helps."

The next thing Audrey knew, Jordan was holding onto her hand, not ready to let go of it for anything.

"I've got you and Zion; that dinosaur cry sounded further off, anyway." Audrey said that last part for own benefit as much as Jordan's. "Just listen to the sound of my voice while I tell you a story, and we will stop whenever you need to, alright?"

"Okay." nodded Jordan. "Go."


	9. Vulnerabilities

It was needless to say that even without the dinosaurs on the loose, Haven was a mess, mostly with a slew of longed-for animals, AJ's 'kitten herd' being a prime example. Simply put, Haven was anything but, and her citizens were confused and freaked out, taking shelter wherever they could while they wondered where Audrey and her posse were with a plan to save the day, like they always did.

* * *

"Oh, thank goodness!" Duke exclaimed as he burst into the office, with AJ in tow. "You're all here!"

"Not all of us, buddy." Dwight grunted as he pocketed his phone, having finished checking in on Lizzie at the Shepherd house. "Neither Audrey nor Jordan are here."

Before Duke managed any kind of response, AJ let out a wail of despair. She really didn't like the idea of both her mother and her godmother missing in action when she had no idea what was going on.

Glad that AJ was cat-free and had no cat hair on her, Claire scooped her young friend up and sat her on her hip.

"I've got you." The bartender told her as she fussed over the little girl in a motherly way. "I'll keep an eye on you until we find them, okay?"

AJ just nodded and laid her head on Claire's shoulder, watching the scene expectantly now.

Feeling the burn of AJ's famous 'judging you' gaze burning into the back of his head and wondering why the little girl didn't go to Nathan, Duke spoke to Dwight.

_"What_ is _happening_ today, man? A stampede, a herd of kittens, and now _dinosaurs?"_

"You'd better sit down for this one…"

Duke did, and at the end of the explanation, he was flabbergasted.

"So Karen turns _invisible_ at will, plays _favorites,_ and she's like, _five years old?"_

"Mhm." Dwight nodded. "That's why only some of us have seen her, and why she's granted kids' wishes the most. Those reasons are also probably why Karen took Audrey and Jordan. She sees them as valuable."

"Two things we know for sure is that Jordan has been gone for almost thirty minutes, and just before she was taken, she had a contraction." added Vince.

Duke felt his heart plummet; even if he and Jordan weren't exactly chummy in any version of Haven—and she thought he was a part-time idiot—he didn't hate her, which meant that he cared about her well-being.

"The second thing," Vince continued. "Is that the site of the old Silsbury house—before it caught on fire—is where the Grey Gull stands today."

"Of course it is." Duke rolled his eyes. "Any ideas where Karen put Audrey and Jordan?"

"Yes, actually." Nathan looked up from a map he'd been poring over. "Our best bet would be the Empty Quarter."

Had Audrey been in the room, she would have laughed at Nathan's wording and asked how a place like Haven could have an official 'empty quarter,' but the one they had was just past Potter's Field, and it had stood empty for about a century now, so there wasn't a person left alive who remembered what life had been like when it was an actual part of the community.

Plus, any time someone got near it, they'd always dash off, swearing they were being watched.

"Mind you," Vince told the chief. "That place is almost three miles long. Where would we start?"

Nathan pointed to one spot on the map. "Here."

Dave was the first to react. "Hangman's Alley? _Really?"_

"Sorry it isn't called Sunshine Valley or Gumdrop Road."

"Are you afraid to ghost hunti—oh, my God…"

What had started out as a friendly jibe from Claire fell short when Karen materialized in front of her and AJ, looking more than a little cross. AJ couldn't see her, but she sure could sense her, so she burrowed closer to Claire, trying to making herself seem smaller. The only other person in the room could see her was Duke, but even as he drew closer, he became speechless.

"Leave us alone!" Karen demanded. "We will be happy; _I_ will be happy!"

As the group skeptic, poor Claire was very surprised she could see Karen at all, meaning that she didn't know how to feel about the fact that she could talk to her without her brain trying to spontaneously combust.

"Karen, my name is Claire." The bartender introduced herself, making sure not to make any sudden movements as she took a step forward, tightening her grip on AJ as she held onto her like a baby koala. "Can you tell me how old you are? I think it escaped me after my friends told me."

Karen was taken aback by this because she'd been anticipating hostility from the redhead. "I'm five."

"How long have you _been_ five?"

About time someone asked me that, Karen thought. "Since the day mumsy died."

Sorrow filled Claire's heart. No wonder Karen had a bitter streak—her mother had died on her birthday.

Claire indicated AJ, still in her arms. "Honey, this is Audrey's little girl, AJ. She needs her mother."

"Audrey can have AJ when Jordan is done."

Progress, Claire thought. "Will you tell me where you put Audrey and Jordan? A placed called the Empty Quarter?"

"Yes."

"Will you tell me what house?"

Karen's eyes flashed with danger again; Claire had been using her! "No."

"But—"

"STOP _LOOKING! _I SAID _NO!"_

As a way to express her anger to those who couldn't see, sense, or hear her, Karen lobbed about a dozen paper balls at Duke, and for good measure, hurled a stapler in his direction, too.

"What in the world!" The smuggler exclaimed as he sidestepped the airborne piece of office equipment before it stuck itself into the opposite wall. "Is she still here?"

"Nope." reported Claire after a visual sweep of the room. "She left—looks like you were her diversion."

"Scapegoat, black sheep, diversion." Duke muttered as he cleaned up the the paper balls. "Why is it always me?"

"For the record," Nathan said to the engaged couple. "You both saw her?"

"Yes," Claire confirmed. "But rest of you only saw me talking to empty air, huh?"

Nathan, Dwight, Dave, and Vince could only nod, so she carried on.

"Before Karen lost her marbles just now, she said that her mother died when she turned five, and I know that it was a fire that killed her, but that's probably the catalyst—or maybe even the trigger—for getting Karen put on that 'other plane of being' in the fifties. She also said that Audrey and Jordan _are_ in the Empty Quarter, but she wouldn't give me the exact location."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Dwight demanded. "My wife is out there, and she's in labor!"

"But what about AJ?" protested Nathan. "She won't get out of Claire's arms, and we can't take her with us, but we really need Claire because she made contact with Karen, _and_ Karen seemed to like her!"

Everybody looked over at the two in question just in time to see AJ vanish into thin air. Exactly one second later, Hanneli vanished, too.

"Nathan?" Dwight said cautiously to his friend. "Talk to us."

Nathan didn't know what to say, though, and how could he?

First, his pregnant wife's very pregnant best friend goes missing, then his wife, and like that wasn't already stressful enough, his little girl and his wife's best friend's faithful dog had both vanished at the same time, too!

"Let's go find them, then." He finally said, putting his game face on. "Let's go to the Empty Quarter."

"Okay," Claire took Nathan's keys from him before he even try. "But I'm driving your truck because I have a feeling that you wouldn't be so good at the wheel right now."

* * *

Over in a nondescript house on the end of the left row in Hangman's Alley, Jordan was just coming off a contraction and sobbing because flashbacks of Maríposa's birth—otherwise known to Jordan as the day her family died—were coming back faster than she was preferring. The only thing that was keeping her anchored was that Audrey was pouring a lot of her energy, and a great amount of love, into caring for her in that moment.

"Audrey," her name came out in a near whimper as she finished checking the dilation and arranging a blanket over Jordan's legs for modesty. "How's it looking down there?"

Already having put Jordan's long black hair in a bun and wiping away her sweat and tears, Audrey was now helping her friend out of her peasant top so that she was in her undershirt now; keeping Jordan at a comfortable temperature was vital.

"Zion is really itching to meet her mommy—you're almost at eight centimeters."

"Eight?!" Jordan exclaimed. "You mean I've been in labor all day, and I didn't even realize?! And where the hell is Dwight?!"

"Hey, now." Audrey spoke soothingly. "All that matters is that Zion is born safely and in perfect health."

"Zion is priority…"

Audrey kissed Jordan's brow encouragingly and sat next to her. "Good girl."

Jordan laid her head on Audrey's chest. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course."

"I've never said this to anyone, but in the real Haven, even though it doesn't look like it, I love Dwight more than I love Nathan."

Audrey's heart jumped slightly, but she distracted herself by pulling Jordan closer in a hug since she seemed to like that. "Is that so? How do you know?"

"Nathan can feel me without getting hurt, and he did figure out that my curse is that I can't be touched, but Dwight…"

She let out a halting sigh. What she was about to say next she'd never said aloud before.

"He was the first person from The Guard to find me after Saúl and Maríposa died, and even before he introduced me to Vince and Dave, he would stay with and hold me while I wept for my family. Nathan can feel me, but Dwight picked me up from rock bottom and hung on with me when I wanted to die. If not for him, I'd probably be dead right now."

"Oh, Jordan…"

"After what happened at Marsten Road, I've noticed that my curse is ebbing. I have the things I want to do, but they might take a backseat because…"

She stopped as a smaller contraction rippled through her body. Audrey helped her through it, and when it was done, she told Jordan she didn't have to finish her tale if she didn't want to, but Jordan shook her head no. She was determined.

"Those things I want to do might have to take a backseat because I'm in love with Dwight, Audrey."

"Even though you're with Nathan?"

"Yeah. Nathan is a good guy, but he isn't Dwight. And since my curse really is ebbing, there will probably be a point where I can have babies again. I want that with Dwight because I _know_ him, and I know he loves me like that, too. If I remember any of _this," _(she meant the parallel universe) "Then I want to find him and show him the person I used to be before my affliction reared its ugly head."

"Has he ever seen that side of you?"

"Bits and pieces, but I'm not scared anymore."

"Good for you, Jordan. I'm proud of you."

Jordan actually smiled at that. "As for Nathan—he's all yours."

Audrey flustered at that, not knowing what to say, but then she saw the distracted look on Jordan's face.

"What is it?"

"My water broke…"

Knowing that they were even closer to the birth now, Audrey got Jordan to sit up on her own and she rid her of everything but her tank top and threw them into a pile with the shirt she'd been wearing. Audrey didn't normally have any weak sort of constitutions, but since she was pregnant in this timeline, she felt her stomach do a small flip and she prayed that her offspring would behave.

Just as she finished thinking about this, she and Jordan heard a faint popping noise. Recognizing the sound of teleportation, they saw that AJ and Hanneli had both standing by the closet, looking around.

The second Hanneli was within Jordan's reach, the waitress hugged her close and wept into her fur because she was feeling all kinds of overwhelmed and emotional.

AJ, meanwhile, remained by the closet, having been intercepted by her mother.

"Abigail Jordan," the older blond addressed her firstborn as she knelt in front of her. "How did you get here?"

"I heard that you and Auntie Jordan were gone, so I made a wish, and then we were here!"

"You made a wish to be with us?"

"Just you." The three-year-old confessed. "I didn't think Auntie would be here, too…"

"Because you couldn't have known." Audrey sighed. "Was Hanneli with you when you made the wish?"

AJ nodded. "I wished that she could be with Auntie Jordan, just in case she was alone."

"That was really thoughtful of you."

AJ beamed at the praise and then asked a question of her own. "Mommy, what's the matter?"

"It's almost time for baby Zion to be born."

The mini-Audrey went from happy to pale and apprehensive in 0.2 seconds, but because she was part Parker and part Wournos, she toughened up even faster.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Go give her a hug and tell her lots of nice things, but be really gentle."

AJ gave her mother a mock salute to show her understanding, and made her way to Jordan, who was very happy to see her.

Audrey watched her daughter show her godmother nothing but love, and then she found herself wondering if she and Nathan would ever have a kid together (or even twins) if things ever went the way she desired in the regular Haven.

Audrey continued to watch them, although after a second, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up—they were being watched.

After scanning the room for who she thought it was, she shuddered: Karen was perched on the rocking chair, completely visible, and very upset.


	10. Between A Rock And A Hard Place

**I haven't forgotten about this story, I promise; I also have a handful of other open stories!**

* * *

The look on Karen's face told them that a hiccup had occurred in her plans, and that it wasn't at all in her favor. Saying that she was on the warpath was a dead-on description.

AJ was the least of Karen's worries at the moment, so she was alright, but Jordan was incredibly vulnerable, so Audrey stood between her and Karen, and knelt down so that they were eye-level.

"Jordan _really_ needs to get to the hospital!"

Karen stomped her foot. "She _can't_ go!"

"But why?"

"Because I need a new mumsy!"

So Karen was getting desperate, and if anyone pushed her in the wrong direction, she could unravel. Not good.

"Karen you've been this way since 1955, though. Why wait until now, _decades_ later, to start picking people to be your mother?"

"Because there was nobody interesting until pretty Lucy, but _she_ didn't work, and then I had to wait for _Jordan_ to be a grown up! If your friends find you and Jordan right now, then they'll send you _back_ and I won't have anyone until _next_ time!"

"What do you mean by 'next time'?"

Karen didn't answer because behind Audrey, Jordan gave a strangled cry of pain. True, she was in active labor and her water had broken, but she wasn't fully dilated yet. It was driving her up the wall.

Seeing as she was in too much pain to think straight, Audrey continued to appeal to Karen.

"I understand that you want to keep Jordan, but what about her baby? It's almost time for her to be born!"

This caught Karen off-guard. "It's a girl?"

"Yep, and she's called Zion."

Karen took that knowledge to mind and then glanced over at AJ, who getting confused: she still couldn't see the ethereal being talking to her mother, but she could absolutely register her and hear her. That last part was new.

"Audrey," Karen said, actually curious for a moment. "She's called AJ, right?"

"Uh-huh, and she's mine."

"She's pretty, just like you… and Lucy…"

That's the second mention of Lucy, thought Audrey. "Baby girl, you knew Lucy?"

Karen gave a nod, but she wasn't really paying Audrey much attention anymore as she walked up to AJ. She'd seen her before, but not this close up.

"Mommy?" AJ called to Audrey, bewildered.

"It's okay, angel!" Audrey called back. "Trust mommy on this one!"

AJ did, but that didn't stop her from being scared. It even made her shiver.

Noticing this, Karen conjured up a blanket and handed it to her. Slightly freaked out by the floating blanket in front of her, she didn't take it until Audrey encouraged her to.

Satisfied she had made AJ comfortable, Karen went back to Audrey.

"Do your babies have names?"

Audrey blanched; there were actually two in there? "They don't have names yet."

"Pick pretty ones—they're girls, just like AJ."

Audrey smiled at this and put a hand to her middle, smiling at the thought, forgetting for a minute that she didn't belong in this version of Haven.

"And Jordan's baby is called Zion, right?"

"That's right."

"Hmm." Karen mused aloud. "I've always wanted a big sister and a little sister…"

"NO!" Jordan yelled in a tone that made even Hanneli jump. "YOU CAN'T HAVE ME, ZION, _OR_ AJ! NOT EVEN OVER MY DEAD BODY!"

Enraged, Karen made to strike, but with quick thinking, Audrey pushed Karen backward. It was only meant to be a little push, but Karen fell back and hit her head. (Audrey was very surprised when Kareh turned out to be solid) The look that Karen gave Audrey when she stood up, rubbing her head, could only be described as poisonous.

"Karen, I am so sorry." Audrey apologized quickly.

"No, you're not."

Karen glanced out of the window in the alley, spotting something far off that the people in her current company didn't see.

"I gotta go."

And she did.

Audrey immediately hurried over to Jordan, to check on her. "How's it going? Do you need to push yet?"

"No, thank God, but it'll be soon, I'm sure." Jordan let out a puff of air. "Audrey, I couldn't her take AJ or Zion, or have any interest in your babies, even if we don't know how long we're gonna be h—ouch!"

Jordan dissolved into tears and squeezed Audrey's hand hard as the hardest contraction yet hit her. Audrey did her best to take care of her and comfort her, but in the middle of it, poor AJ burst into frightened tears. Hanneli immediately got up from where she'd been laying next to Jordan and went to comfort her little friend.

I hope we get home soon, Audrey thought.

* * *

"How do the old the old stories go again?" Duke asked. "Isn't this whole area supposed to be haunted, but Hangman's Alley especially?"

He, Claire, Dwight, Nathan, Dave, and Vince had arrived in the Empty Quarter and had just entered the beginning of Hangman's Alley, an area that wrapped around the entire back of the ghost town.

Everyone had a flashlight or camping lantern because night was falling fast, but they were still keeping each other is their sights because they were all creeped out. It made traveling down the cobblestone path, shining their lights into all the empty houses, looking for signs of life even more like something out of a scary movie.

"It isn't haunted _per se," _Dave provided. "But in the past few decades or so, everyone who has come over here has felt like something was watching them. Now we know that it's been Karen."

"Well if it isn't 'haunted per se,' like you said, my good man, then what's the difference?" Duke protested. "None, and that's not exactly comforting!"

"Shut up, Duke." Dwight, Nathan, Dave, and Vince shot in unison.

Wisely deciding not to irritate them further, Duke walked ahead towards Claire, who was leading the pack.

"You've been quiet for awhile." He commented. "What are you doing all the way up here?"

"Well, since I'm the only one of us in this Tribe of Weirdos who can see and hear Karen, it makes the most sense that I'm the leader, huh?"

"Good call."

He walked beside her in silence for a few moments, his mind drifting back to how Claire's behavior had been, even before Audrey and Jordan had shown up, causing a rift…specifically her sudden abstinence from coffee and alcohol, two kinds drinks that she didn't drink too much of, anyway.

"Hey—I've been meaning to ask you…"

Claire silenced him him by putting a finger to his lips.

"Duke," she said softly. "What do you think of the name Ophelia?"

"I know she's your favorite character in Shakesp—oh, my God!"

By the time Duke had connected the dots, Claire was already ten feet ahead of him, looking beautiful in the gloom.

"Babe," he said when he caught up with her. "You can't just leave me _hanging_ with a question like that! _Are_ you pr—"

His words fell on deaf ears when he saw that Claire was now standing at a fixed point in front of her.

"She's here, isn't she?" Duke asked her.

"Yes, and she doesn't look happy."

"There you guys are!" Dwight said as he and the others caught up to them. "What—oh…"

In the zone, Claire knelt in front of Karen and touched a hand to the little one's cheek. This caught Karen off-guard for the second time in an hour, and as a result, she softened up enough to lower her defenses and let everybody see her.

"Hi, beautiful." Claire smiled. "How are you?"

_"Angry."_ pouted Karen. "Audrey made a mess of things, AJ's frightened of me, and Jordan yelled!"

Feeling like she'd been visible for too long, the little girl upped her guard again so she could only interact with Claire.

"Maybe if you stopped making all of these crazy things happening," Claire suggested carefully. "You could go talk things out with all of them."

"But then everyone will go, and I'll still be here!"

Karen pouted again and this time, the earth trembled beneath her feet in an earthquake; she was tired. When the tremor passed a few seconds later, instead of staying invisible, she was visible again and everyone saw her. Karen was already an enigma to begin with, but now she was giving off an ethereal appearance, like she was glowing.

"I'm _so_ tired, Claire."

"Do you still have the ability to grant wishes?"

"Only some."

Claire thought fast; she had to make it good. "I wish that all of the dinosaurs in Haven could be gone."

Karen twirled her left wrist in a fancy way. "They're gone."

"Thank you."

The ground trembled again and Karen teleported away.

_"What_ was _that?"_ Dwight pulled Claire to her feet when the tremor ended. "We don't get _earthquakes_ in _Maine."_

"Karen is getting weaker and losing her control."

"Is that why we saw her for a minute?" Nathan inquired.

"Yeah, and it's probably been decades in the time since she's had any physical interaction with another person."

"She's remembering what life was like, so long ago." Vince mused. "What's your consensus on her, Claire?"

"What do you mean?"

It was Dave who provided clarification. "Do you think that Karen is alive or dead?"

"Alive, but fading away for good from wherever she is."

"Did she tell you where she was going before she left just now?" Vince pressed.

"No, and I don't think she would even if I asked her to because she's bent on keeping her prisoners' location a secret, but…"

Claire became distracted when she noticed something like a trail of light and glitter hovering in midair. Holding her lantern higher, she saw it go on for another half yard or so down the alley before making a sharp left turn.

"What are you seeing that we aren't?" Duke asked.

"A vapor trail. She can't hold herself together the way she's used to, and she's leading us in the right direction without even realizing it. Time to go."


	11. My Sweet, My Lovely

**Don't freak out, but this is the second to last chapter!**

**I don't know if any of you are Whovians, but just in case, here's a fun tidbit: the tracks 'Together or Not At All - The Song of Amy and Rory,' as well as 'Goodbye Pond' from Angels Take Manhattan in series 7 were the inspirations for this particular installment!**

**Also—you may need tissues for this because I sure did U^_^**

* * *

Claire and her posse followed Karen's vapor trail into the heart of Hangman's Alley, coming to a stop in front of one of the older, more decrepit houses.

"Claire?" Duke said his fiancée's name carefully when he saw her grow confused.

"I don't see her, but this is definitely where her trail ends." Claire walked up the stoop and tried the front door, but to no avail. "Karen's got the door sealed shut."

"Windows, too." Dave reported after trying the one closest to him. "Should we try to break them open?"

"And get Karen freaked out while her curse is waning?" scoffed Vince. "Are you _kidding?"_

"Knock it off, you two." Nathan warned.

"Then what do we do?" Duke inquired quickly, also not wanting to hear the two older men squabble. "I wouldn't put it past Karen to soundproof this place."

Claire sat down on the stoop. "Give me a minute!"

"We don't have a minute!" Dwight cried. "My best friend, my _wife, _is in labor, and she's probably close to having the baby _now!"_

* * *

Dwight's words were not at all far from the truth because Jordan was deep in labor, and incredibly weepy.

"Audrey, she can't come _now!"_ She cried through her tears. "Dwight isn't here!"

"Jordan, I need you to stay with me!" Audrey told her as she checked on the birthing progress. "I can see Zion's head; she's crowning!"

"But why is Karen still here?"

"Never mind Karen right now." Audrey said sternly. "I need you to get ready to push again, and that'll be on my next count—three, two, one, PUSH!

Jordan bore down and pushed as hard as she could, and somewhere in all that pain, she felt Zion's head and shoulders begin sliding out of the birth canal. All Jordan wanted was for Zion to be out because she felt like her body was on fire.

Karen, meanwhile, was a few feet away on the floor, curled up in pain. True, she'd decided that Jordan was her 'Chosen One,' but she had not at all been expecting to be in-tune with her body. True, she'd been stuck as a kindergartner since 1955, and yes, she'd matured in wisdom since then, but she still had the pain threshold of a child, and the pain she was feeling from Jordan's body was crippling.

AJ was transfixed by Karen because she now had less and less control over her ability to turn invisible, and was actually flickering in and out of the visibility spectrum. Being the product of Audrey and Nathan, AJ was filled with compassion for Karen and wanted to do something to fix her misery, even if she'd been a meanie so far.

"Karen, you gotta stop!" She said hotly, getting to her feet after getting rebuffed with a blast of energy. "I wanna help!"

_"No, no, no, no!"_

"Tell me why!"

Ticked off and in pain, Karen blasted AJ clean through the wall and out into the hallway outside the room, an easy task because the paneling was very old. Out in the hallway, Karen hit AJ with her palm this time and when she got frustrated with AJ for not fighting back, she teleported them further away.

Utterly perplexed, Hanneli barked at the whole in the wall, trying to figure out where the girls had gone to.

Jordan and Audrey saw the scene, too.

"Where the hel—HERE COMES A BIG ONE!"

Jordan's body was hit by a particulary hard contraction and she sobbed and cursed her way through it, only able to think about expelling her extremely stubborn daughter from her body. For some reason, Zion had slowed down, whereas earlier, she'd been in 'hyper-speed' mode and couldn't wait to come out.

"Come on, Jordan." Audrey encouraged, holding out her hand and wiggling her fingers. "Just squeeze as hard as you need to—go on."

Jordan did, and for the next contraction, she bore down for close to a minute. When it was over, Audrey checked on her friend's progress again.

"Jordan, her arms are almost all the way out!" Audrey reported as she worked quickly to clean out Zion's airway and laughing in relief when she heard the baby's wails. "Stubborn or not, Zion is making excellent progr—hey! Stay awake!"

The hour wasn't late, but Jordan was feeling burned out and sleepy. The fact that Hanneli was now curled up against her for support also added to her wanting to drift off.

"Come on, sweetie!" Audrey patted Jordan's cheek. "Stay awake!"

"But I'm so tired!"

"I know you are, but stay strong for Zion! Think of her; she needs you!"

Audrey's words gave Jordan courage, and she sat up straighter, ready to go again.

* * *

Outside, Claire was continuing to think of a way to help their friends, but she was really thrown for a loop when AJ and Karen suddenly appeared in front of them on the cobblestones.

"Leave me alone!" Karen yelled, giving AJ another smack. "Just go!"

Unable to feel anything, AJ took the hit and balled her fists up, like she was trying not to retaliate.

"Let me help you!" She tried again. "Let me!"

"You don't know how!"

Karen aimed another blast of energy at AJ, but AJ dodged it gracefully.

"Please?" She asked. "I just want to make mommy and Auntie Jordan and Zion feel better!"

"But then they'll go, and I'll be alone!"

This whole time, Claire, Duke, Nathan, Dwight, Dave, and Vince were watching the girls, almost amused that they were oblivious to them.

"Should we try to break them up?" Claire asked Nathan. "AJ is _your_ kid, after all."

"I'm not sure if we _should_ intervene." The police chief admitted sheepishly. "I think AJ is up to something."

Just as he said that, the ground trembled for a half-second and AJ bravely eased her way towards Karen and helped her up from the ground, where she had fallen.

When Karen didn't push her away, AJ held her face in her hands, reminding them easily of Audrey, when she helped the afflicted.

"I will _not_ hurt you! _Trust_ me!"

Something in Karen's demeanor changed, and she visibly relaxed. "For Jordan, I will."

AJ continued to look at Karen and talk to her like she was the only person in the world. "I wish all of the crazy stuff was gone from Haven, _and_ I wish that all of the broken houses were fixed."

Karen lit up for a second. "It's done."

"Let's go back upstairs, okay?"

Karen just nodded and teleported them back into the house.

* * *

Suddenly back to her impatient self, Zion had stopped fighting Jordan and finally made her world debut.

"Jordan," Audrey cried happily as she worked quickly to clean out Zion's airway and wipe all of the birthing matter off her. "She's here, and she's perfect!"

"Really?" Jordan was weary, but wide awake. "Get her warm!"

Acting quickly, Audrey used one of her shoelaces to cut off the umbilical cord since she didn't have a sterilized tool to do it with, and after that, she wrapped the newborn up in a clean blanket she'd found earlier.

"Here she is." Audrey placed Zion in her mother's arms. "Here's your girl, and she's beautiful."

The second Jordan had Zion in her arms, she broke down in joyful tears.

"Hello, my Zion-love. Mommy loves you so much."

Zion had been fussing, as newborns do, but when she registered her mother's voice, she quieted immediately and snuggled against Jordan, her little head making contact with Jordan's chest briefly.

Jordan flinched, afraid that her curse would kick back in since she'd given birth now, but nothing happened.

"Audrey, did you see that?" Jordan asked her in surprise. "I didn't hurt her; do you think my curse is gone for good?"

Hanneli interrupted any kind of response Audrey could've given by standing up and giving Jordan a lick on the cheek. She almost turned her interest to the baby, but her attention got derailed when AJ and Karen teleported back into the room. Jordan immediately curled up, holding Zion close, ready to protect her while Audrey took the reigns.

"AJ, Karen," she spoke with caution. "Where did two go?"

"Outside, mommy," AJ reported dutifully. "And Karen made all of the bad things go because I wished for that!"

"Oh, really?"

AJ nodded. "Yeah, and it's all okay! Did Zion come?"

"Yes, baby girl, and she's over in Auntie Jordan's arms!"

AJ brightened, but didn't say anything right away. Audrey studied her mini-me closely, practically seeing the wheels turning in her head.

"Abigail Jordan, what are you thinking?"

AJ took a deep breath and slowly let it it out. "I'm thinking that I know how to fix this mess, but…"

Audrey raised an eyebrow. "How long have you known something is up?"

"Awhile, but…" The little girl's bottom lip trembled.

"But what, baby?" Audrey wiped her daughter's tears as they fell. "You can tell mommy anything."

"I'm really gonna miss you, and I just love you so much! Daddy and the baby, too!"

Audrey hugged her daughter close, already grieving her loss and the fact that she probably wouldn't remember her when everything was reset. When mother and daughter pulled apart, Audrey took AJ's tiny hands in hers and kissed them.

"I love you, too, and so do daddy and the baby, and nothing will ever change that. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mommy."

Audrey kissed AJ's face and caressed it, wanting to commit it to memory, just in case. When she saw the devastated look on AJ's face, she held a hand over her heart, noticing how her hand took up most of AJ's chest.

"We're going to miss you so much, but you are brave. You are so brave, and that is wonderful."

AJ smiled through her tears and kissed her mother one more time. "I love you, mommy."

"I love you, too, Abigail Jordan. Forever and ever."

It was hard, but AJ parted from her mother and stepped away so Karen could have her say.

The little girl was completely transparent by this point because of her steady decline, but she still had her solidity about her, as Audrey learned when Karen hugged her.

"It's time for everyone to go now, pretty Audrey. Even me." Karen whispered into her ear. "I need to sleep, but I promise I'll be good."

"Okay, sweetheart." Audrey gently ended the embrace. "You go have a good rest, and I will think of you every single day."

"Okay, my pretty Audrey." Karen gave her a real smile, and it was just how she'd smiled in life, when she'd been happy with her parents. "Good bye."

"So long, beautiful girl."

Karen left Audrey and went to Jordan, who had her baby in her arms and her dog at her side.

"Is that Zion?" She asked.

"Uh-huh." Jordan confirmed. "What do you think?"

Zion was wrapped in a pink blanket and fast asleep. (Jordan suspected that her eyes were a copy of hers: brown) The baby's warm skin was already turning a healthy pink hue, and Karen looked on in fascination when Zion tucked a tiny fist under her tiny chin while she sucked on the thumb of her other hand. Zion gave a huge yawn and even they even caught a spill of brown freckles across the bridge of her nose, but one of the things that Jordan found most amusing was that Zion had a head full of dark bushy hair that was already beginning to curl.

"I think that Zion is the prettiest baby in the whole world."

Karen touched a hand to Jordan's cheek and Jordan flinched again, expecting her curse to do its thing, but it didn't.

"I wish you could stay, Jordan." Karen told the woman before her. "I really wish you could, but even I can't, so I'm going to let you go. I'm sorry I kept you here."

"It's okay, Karen. I forgive you."

"Thank you." Karen gave her a look of compassion. "Are you ready?"

"May I have a moment with Zion?"

Karen gave her approval and stepped back, leaving Jordan to gaze down at her precious bundle of joy. She was now going through the same feelings of separation Audrey had been feeling with AJ.

"I love you, my Zion Audrey, and I love that I've been able to hold you and know you, even if it's only for a little bit. The only thing I'm sorry about is that daddy and Lizzie can't be here, but I'll have you know that they love you as much as I do."

Jordan kissed Zion's nose, eliciting a yawn from the little one and it melted Jordan's heart.

"I have to let you go now, but a quick word: look for Elizabeth and Maríposa." Jordan kissed Zion again. "Don't worry, little one. Lizzie and Posey are your sisters, and they are going to love you so much and look after you for me."

Zion gave another yawn and fell asleep listening to her mother's heartbeart. It was with her heart feeling heavy that Jordan looked back to Karen.

"I'm ready now."

Karen approached Jordan and touched a hand to her cheek before looking to AJ, who was right beside her.

"Say it, AJ, before it's too late."

AJ took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I wish that mommy and Auntie Jordan could go back to the real way things are supposed to be for them, and I wish that you could be happy with your mommy and daddy."

Karen tilted her head back with her eyes closed and extended her arms out on either side of her body as she began to rise into the air on her own accord and glow a near-blinding white, eventually devolving into a ball of pure energy.

As a final good bye, Karen grazed herself against Jordan's, Audrey's, AJ's, and Zion's cheeks before filling the whole room with warmth and light.


	12. Epilogue

**As the chapter title suggests, this is last installment for this tale**

* * *

Jordan woke up to find that she was in her own apartment, in her own bed, and that she was very much alone.

She instantly became flooded with memories of Karen, and of her life with Dwight, Lizzie, Zion, and Hanneli. Memories of Audrey and AJ came rushing back, too. She even hold to bite back a sob as she remembered the feeling of Zion kicking and stretching inside her.

It had all felt so real, but it had just been a dream.

"Come on, Jordan." She said to herself. "Time to get up."

Jordan dragged herself out of bed and headed to the bathroom for a shower, passing her wall calendar on the way and making note of how she had a free day.

She spent most of the shower trying to convince herself that everything she was remembering was a dream, but by the time she was clean and was choosing a clean outfit, she didn't know what to believe.

As means of trying to distract herself, she focused on her wardrobe. For a single woman, Jordan Grace McKee had a lot of clothes, but before long, she was wearing her favorite black jeans, a red tank top, red liner socks, and her purple flats. Remembering that this was reality, she chose chose a pair of red leather gloves, the same shade as her shirt. She normally wore her black leather gloves because those were her trademark, but she just wasn't feeling it today.

After Jordan did her and put on her make-up, her eyes fell upon her jewelry box, to the one thing she hadn't worn in awhile: her charm bracelet. She'd always thought of it as her memory-keeper, more than anything else.

_DING!_

Jordan put her bracelet on and retrieved her phone to see who the text was from. It was from Audrey, followed by a single question.

_Do you remember?_

Jordan's heart skipped a beat as she typed out her answer and hit send. _I do._

_Are you busy this morning?_

_No._

_Mama O'Dooley's? 8:30? I'm buying._

Mama O'Dooley's was one of Haven's diners, and they were famous for great breakfast food.

_Okay, see you then._

_:)_

Jordan checked her phone and saw that it was already seven-thirty, meaning that she had an hour to kill.

More and more memories of her most recent adventure with Audrey were combined back even faster now and it was getting a little overwhelming, so Jordan gathered up her things and left the apartment, locking it behind her.

* * *

In the real Haven, Jordan lived on the shopping avenue, above the bookstore, and when she wasn't at The Gun &amp; Rose, it was a good bet that she could be spotted in one of the shops on Collingwood Row, browsing.

This morning, Jordan entered The Galleria of Gems, Haven's local jewelry store. It was her go-to place, and one of the few places where she didn't have to put up a front about being the bad-ass pariah of a bartender that everybody knew her as because the shopkeeper, Lottie, was very kind. She was also old enough to be Jordan's mother, and Jordan found solace in that since she'd had a rocky relationship with her own when she was alive.

"Good morning, Jordan!" Lottie greeted her warmly. "How are you today?"

"I'm great. How about you?"

"Just fine, dear. I see that you're wearing your charm bracelet again—have you come to get new charms?"

"Not for myself, no." Jordan found herself saying. "I'm going to give my friend her first charm bracelet today, and I'm going to meet her in an hour."

Lottie smiled. "Well, you know what to do. I'll go in the back and fire up my welding tools."

Twenty minutes later, Jordan had chosen all of the charms she wanted, along with a chain, too, and waited as Lottie took everything to the back to put together. By the time that was done and Jordan paid for everything and left, it was twenty to eight, so she decided to take the scenic route to the diner.

On the way there, she passed by Dwight, who was out for a morning walk, and they exchanged hellos, although he was thrown by her pleasantry because one of the first things he'd learned about her was that she wasn't usually a morning person.

As the two parted ways, Jordan felt her head go way up in the clouds as she seriously considered a future where the two of them were happy together with a family and a dog. She couldn't have that with Nathan because she had to stop kidding herself—Nathan belonged with Audrey, and that was that.

"Jordan?"

The dark-haired woman came back to reality and saw that she'd arrived at Mama Dooley's without realizing it. Audrey was in front of her.

"Audrey, hi. Is it already time?"

"Yup." Audrey held the diner door open for her. "You okay? You looked like you were in La La Land."

Jordan chuckled at the phrasing. "That's what it feels like. Let's go get some breakfast."

* * *

Seeing as it was early yet on a Monday morning, the diner was quiet, so the women were able to snag a booth by the window. Mama Dooley herself headed back to the kitchen with their orders, Jordan addressed the elephant in the room first.

"Audrey, just how much do you remember?"

"All of it." The blond leaned back in her seat. "I remember how happy I was being married to Nathan, I remember AJ and watching her sleep, and I remember being pregnant. I miss it."

Jordan sighed. "I miss my family, too, but my question is—was that whole adventure with Karen, her Trouble, Zion's birth, and AJ's help—all a dream, or what?"

"I thought about that, but if we both remember, then it couldn't be? Right?"

"After everything I've been though over the years, I've learned that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes you can't question it."

"Even if you go through something like what we just did?"

"Accept it, and hopefully learn some lessons from it."

Audrey arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Jordan gave a nod, trying not to think to much about her status as a widow, or of how badly she wished she could have held Maríposa—and Zion—just a little bit longer.

"I am one hundred percent sure. Trust me."

Feeling a little confined, Jordan took off her gloves and flexed her fingers. Audrey was a little taken aback because while she knew what Jordan could do and that she was completely immune to her, she'd never seen her bare hands before.

"Jordan, what are you doing?"

"Trust me." Jordan repeated. "Just trust me."

"Okay."

Audrey watched as Jordan took the gift box from her purse and set it in front of her. Had they just not had serious bonding time on their most recent adventure, she would've been weirded out.

"What's this?" Audrey asked.

"I want to be friends with you, Audrey, because I think that Karen let us remember so that we can have this chance."

Audrey had arrived at the same conclusion before leaving her loft that morning, so she nodded in agreement. She gasped in surprise when she lifted the lid off the gift box and saw the silver charm bracelet inside.

"Jordan, wow!" Audrey smiled at her. "This is beautiful; thank you!"

"Would you like help to put it on?"

"Sure."

Jordan fixed the bracelet on Audrey's wrist and watched her admire it and investigate the charms. There were the letters a and j, a pair of wedding bells, a baby footprint, and curiously, a shooting star.

"I get the letters, the bells, and the footprint, but the shooting star?"

"Karen; she was a little nuts, but in that last moment, she was good."

"She was, and I'm actually going to miss her." Audrey said as she produced a small box from her own purse and handed it to Jordan, smiling. "You weren't the only one who went to the Galleria this morning."

Tickled, Jordan opened the box to find some new charms: a Star Trek insignia badge because Audrey had remembered Jordan's confession about being a Star Trek fan, and there was also an m for Maríposa and a z for Zion, along with a paintbrush as a nod to Jordan's hidden artistry talent, and last but not least, a shooting star identical to the one she'd picked out for Audrey.

"Great minds really do think alike." Jordan observed. "I love these, Audrey. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Jordan picked up the shooting star in her hand, rubbing it with her fingers. "Do we tell Dwight and Nathan about our trip to the parallel Haven?"

"Yes," Audrey answered at length. "But _only_ them because the whole thing felt personal."

"I'll give you that," Jordan agreed. "And I'll give you something else, too."

"Oh?"

"Nathan."

"I beg your pardon?"

"During these last few days, or however long it was that we were gone in that frame of suspended time, I realized that I love Nathan because he can touch me, but I'm in love with Dwight because I've known him longer and he would stay up with me and hold me when I… cried about my dead family." Jordan flexed her long piano fingers, a habit when she was barehanded because of her poor circulation. "I know he cares about me, too, but I've been pushing him away for so long. He keeps coming back and I used to be irritated by that, but I get it now."

"You're not scared anymore?"

"That's right, and I'm ready to be brave because he holds my heart. You and Nathan? You two have something wonderful, mysterious, beautiful, and _electric._ I don't want to get in the way of that if it means you can be happy with him, or I can be happy with Dwight. Nathan is all yours."

Audrey immediately rounded the table and slid into Jordan's half of the booth, hugging her. Jordan was a little surprised, but she quickly hugged her back.

"Thank you, Jordan." Audrey whispered in her ear. "Friends?"

"Friends."

* * *

_Done_

* * *

**Well, this story has come to a close, and I must say—it's been fun ;)**


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